


New Reality

by WolfandOwl



Series: Criminal Minds/Walking Dead [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alexandria Safe-Zone, Anal Sex, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Creepy Negan, Don’t Like Don’t Read, F/M, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm leaving some TWD and CM characters out, M/M, Murder, Tags May Change, Terminus, The Hilltop (Walking Dead), The Kingdom (Walking Dead), The Prison, The Sanctuary, Zombie Apocalypse, characters will be added, sorry if they're OOC, updates may be sporadic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-03-08 18:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 34,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13463817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfandOwl/pseuds/WolfandOwl
Summary: “How many people have you killed?”"Before, or after?" Hotch asked, unimpressed. "Directly or indirectly?"He then turned to Spencer."Reid what's the answer?""Well, if I add up both the direct and indirect deaths..."The man with the crossbow stepped closer, crossbow still raised.“Just answer the damn question,” he gruffed in a low, gravelly voice.





	1. It’s the End of the World as We Know It

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own The Walking Dead or Criminal Minds!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from It’s the End of the World by R.E.M.

What the doomsday conspirators said was true: The government, military, police, and hospitals would fall first in the zombie apocalypse. The BAU team found that out quickly. It had been a normal day when it all started happening. A strange illness started spreading like wildfire, causing mass panic and hysteria. Reid had explained that the proper term for the zomies was Homo Coprophagus Somnambulus, and the team dubbed them “Copies” for short. Before the government had even devised a plan to take care of it, everything had fallen. Hotch had gathered up the team and told them that they should try to get home to their families, only to find that the airlines were refusing to offer flights. By some miracle of God, Haley was able to get she and Jack down to Georgia where the team was working on the case.  
CM  
Hotch waved the all-clear for Morgan to follow from behind the dumpster they had used for cover. The team, including Hayley and Jack, had been holed up in an apartment building for several. They had found the complex and hastily killed as many Copies as they could, before blocking off the floors that couldn’t be cleared. Morgan and Hotch had volunteered to go look for food, because they were running dangerously low.  
“Remind me again why we’re scoping this place out instead of just walking in?” Morgan asked.  
“Because my wife and son, along with everyone else, are counting on us to bring food back, and we have no idea how many Copies are in there,” Hotch whispered, glaring at Morgan.  
Morgan remained silent, and followed Hotch to the side door, guns at the ready. Hotch slowly opened the door and peaked inside. There were two Copies wandering around, which they promptly put down. They both grabbed as many cans as they could hold and made their exit.  
As they grew closer to the apartment complex, Hotch held his hand out to stop Morgan.  
“Do you hear that?” He asked.  
Both men were silent for a few seconds, until the sound came again. Several screams and gunshots rang out.  
“Come on!” Morgan yelled, sprinting toward the complex.  
Hotch was hot on his heels as the entered the building. The noises got louder, and Hotch new deep in his gut that his team was in trouble. He was startled when Reid came sprinting down the hall.  
“I was just coming to find you!” He panted. “I’m so sorry Hotch, but something happened to Hayley”.  
Hotch dropped the cans he was holding and ran to the room they had been occupying. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Hayley laying on the bed. Rossi had a bloodied rag pressed against her neck, while Jack held her hand as he cried.  
Rossi turned and looked at Hotch with sadness in his eyes.  
“It just happened so fast, Aaron. There’s nothing we could do. The Copy came out of nowhere and bit her”.  
“I need a minute alone with her.”  
Spencer entered the room and grabbed Jack’s hand.  


“Your dad just wants to be alone with your mom for a little bit,” he gently whispered.

Jack nodded and followed Spencer. Hotch waited until JJ, Emily, Spencer, and Jack had left the room, before leaning down and kissing Hayley’s forehead. She took a few shaky breaths before going still, and Hotch grabbed her hand, tears beginning to flow down his face.

Everyone jumped when Hotch yelled, and a loud thump followed. Morgan ran into the room, and saw Hotch laying on the floor, with Hayley tangled in the bedsheets and grabbing at him. Morgan grabbed his knife and prepared to stab her in the head, when Hotch stopped him.

“It has to be me,” he muttered. “She’s my wife”.

Morgan nodded and left the room, and the group flinched when a gunshot rang out. Hotch emerged from the room with a stoic face. “No one goes back in there. We’re leaving”.

Jack sobbed and pulled on Spencer’s hand, wanting to return to his mother, but Spencer pulled him onward, toward the stairway to exit the complex.


	2. These Wounds Won’t Seem to Heal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team runs into some friendly allies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from My Immortal by Evanescence.

No one knew how long it had been, but Reid estimated that it had been at least a year based on the seasons changing. They had mostly been on the road, surviving on animals they had killed and the occasional canned soup. Hotch still lead the team and had grown extremely attached to Jack and Spencer after Hayley’s passing.  
They had been walking along some railroad tracks when a voice with a southern drawl came from behind them.  
“Put your weapons down and turn around with your hands up.”  
Hotch was in the front of the pack, but he could feel the team staring at him, questioning what they should do.  
“Do as he said,” he finally announced, after some brief pondering.  
They all dropped their weapons and slowly turned, to see two men, one with short, dark, curly hair, and one with longer, sandy brown hair. One held a revolver, and the other held a crossbow. The man with the crossbow stared at them with a judgmental glare, while the other man looked more ponderous.  
“Who are you?” The curly haired man asked.  
  
“I’m Aaron Hotchner, this is my son Jack Hotchner, and my colleagues Spencer Reid, David Rossi, Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, and Derrek Morgan”.  
The man silently regarded them for a few seconds.  
“How many people have you killed?”  
  
"Before, or after?" Hotch asked, unimpressed. "Directly or indirectly?"  
He then turned to Spencer.  
  
"Reid what's the answer?"  
  
"Well, if I add up both the direct and indirect deaths..." Reid began.  
The man with the crossbow stepped closer, crossbow still raised.  
  
“Just answer the damn question,” he gruffed in a low, gravelly voice.  
  
“Hundreds, at least,” Reid answered.  
  
At Rick's incredulous look, Prentiss stepped forward. "We worked for the FBI," she explained.  
“How many walkers have you killed?” The other man asked.  
  
“Walkers?” Rossi asked, confusion lacing his voice.  
  
“The infected. The ones that died and came back”.  
  
“30,” Reid swiftly answered.  
The curly haired man was silent for a moment, before he lowered his gun.  
“I’m Rick, and this is Daryl. We have a community a little up the tracks if you’d like to join our group.”  
Hotch and Rossi glanced at each other, before Hotch fixed Rick with his trademark glare.  
“What’s in it for us?”  
Rick looked confused for a moment.  
“Food, water, safety; what else do you need?”  
  
“Could you give us a second to think it over?” JJ asked.  
Rick nodded and turned to talk to Daryl.  
“Should we trust these guys?” Morgan asked.  
  
“They seemed pretty genuine, but I don’t think we should risk it,” Hotch whispered.  
Spencer was silent for a moment before speaking up.  
“Jack hasn’t had a good meal in weeks. None of us have. I think we should go.”  
Hotch stared at him for a moment, before turning and walking toward Rick.  
“We’ll take you up on your offer”.  
Rick shook Hotch’s hand and started leading them towards his “community”.  
“How long have you been on the road?” Rick suddenly asked.  
  
“At least a year, if I’ve been keeping track correctly,” Reid replied.  
  
“You’ve only seen thirty walkers in a year?” Rick asked.  
Reid suddenly sped up to walk next to Rick.  
“You asked how many walkers we’d killed not how many we’d seen. We’ve seen hundreds, but we’ve kept our distance. And the scientific term is Homo Coprophagus Somnambulus.”  
  
“What’s his problem?” Daryl asked.  
  
“You don’t wanna know,” Morgan laughed.  
Rossi quickly stepped in when Daryl seemed to take offense.  
“You’ll have to excuse him. He has an IQ of 187,” Rossi deadpanned.  
Daryl stared at Reid with suspicion written on his face. After following the tracks for a few miles, Rick suddenly turned to Hotch.  
“It’s right through those trees”.  
After stepping through, the team’s mouths dropped open. Hotch was the last to emerge through the trees, right behind Rick.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How am I doing so far?


	3. I Come from the Land of the Ice and Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team is reluctant to join Rick's group at the prison, but find that the place is safe and secure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin.

The team quickly learned that by “community”, Rick meant a prison. The place was huge, with several guard towers and a barbed wire fence surrounding it.  
“It took us a while to clear it out, but it’s completely safe now,” Rick supplied at the team’s shocked expressions.  
They all silently walked to the gates of the prison, where a young boy wearing a Sheriff’s hat stood, waiting for them.  
“Who are they?” The boy asked.  
  
“Just some survivors we found out there,” Rick replied.  
The boy opened the gate, and Rick and Daryl went in first. Hotch glanced back at the team, before following close behind.  
“This is my son Carl.” Rick said, gesturing to the boy. “Maybe he could play with your son. Lord knows he needs someone to hang out with besides Beth and his little sister”.  
  
“Dad!” Carl hissed, looking miffed.  
  
Hotch sure as hell wasn’t going to let Jack play with some boy that he didn’t even know, but he smiled politely and answered, “I’m sure Jack would love that”.  
As Rick lead the way into the sprawling prison, Reid silently pondered how many inmates would be incarcerated at one time. “Were all of the inmates dead when you got here?”  
  
Daryl turned to Reid, that ever-present squint across his face. “All but five. They’re gone now, though”.  
Reid didn’t ask if they had simply left or been killed.  
CM  
“Ya’ll can stay in these cells. They aren’t very big, but the beds are made,” a young woman who was introduced as Maggie called behind her shoulder as she led them to a remote part of the prison.  
  
Jack was excited to finally have a bed to sleep on, and flopped down, face first onto it. Hotch glanced around the cell, pondering if he could talk Rick into letting them stay somewhere else. The rest of the team had entered their respective cells, with JJ and Emily, bunking together. Rossi seemed fine with rooming by himself, but Morgan was in the process of trying to convince Reid to room with him.  
“I’m not comfortable sleeping on that bed. There could be hundreds of diseases just waiting to infect me!” Reid spluttered.  
  
“Pretty boy, it’s a bed. Would you rather sleep on the cold, dusty floor?” Morgan chuckled.  
Reid gave Morgan a look of feigned hurt and slipped past him into the hallway. “I’m going to look for something to do; this place should have a library.”  
Morgan shook his head as Reid disappeared around the corner.  
CM  
The prison was quiet as Reid wandered past a row of cells that looked to be inhabited by some of Rick’s people.  
  
“What are you doing down here?” A low voice came from behind him.  
  
Reid spun around to see Daryl pinning him down by an intense stare. He gulped and figured he should just ask instead of wandering around aimlessly. “Excuse me, but is there a library somewhere?”  
  
Daryl stared at Reid for a few more seconds, before nodding. “It’s on the other side of the prison. I can take ya there.”  
  
“Oh, thank you. I was trying to rule out areas that it wouldn’t be in,” Reid began to explain, but Daryl brushed past him and glanced over his shoulder.  
“Ya comin’ or what?”  
  
Reid nodded and quickly trotted to catch up with Daryl. Daryl seemed to look him up and down, before asking: “’S Spencer, right?” Reid nodded. “Aren’t ya a genius or somin’?”  
  
“Well, I do have an IQ of 187 and can read 20,000 words per minute.”  
  
Daryl stared at Reid for a second, moving his lips as if trying to say something, but changed his mind. They walked in an awkward silence before Daryl halted in front of a pair of doors. “We’re here. When we took this place, we locked a few walkers in here. Let me take ‘em out before ya go in,” he gruffed. In a matter of seconds, Daryl had opened the doors and had already fired a bolt into a walker’s head. Two more came out after it, and before Daryl could stop him, Reid raised his gun and shot both of them in the head.  
Daryl quickly turned to Reid. “Tha’ hell, man? I told ya to stay back there”.  
Before Reid could respond, Daryl had entered the library to look for any stray walkers. Content that the coast was clear, he turned back to Reid. “’S all yers”.  
  
“Wait!” Reid sputtered. “Will you stay here while I look at the books? I want to take them back to my cell”.  
  
Daryl seemed taken aback by the request but nodded. “Fine. Just let me know when yer done”.  
  
Reid nodded and disappeared into the shelves. Several minutes later her returned carrying several books. Daryl glanced at one, only to see that it was about the wildlife of Georgia. “Ya like huntin’?” He asked.  
  
Reid quickly shook his head. “Oh, no. I just thought it would be interesting to read about the wildlife here”.  
  
Daryl nodded. “Lots a’ squirrels an’ deer. I can take ya out sometime to go huntin’ if ya want”.  
Reid was surprised by the offer but nodded his thanks. Daryl held out his hand in a silent offer to take some of Reid’s books, and they silently walked back to his cell. When they returned, Morgan eyed Daryl suspiciously. “What’s he doing here?”  
  
“I asked him to take me to the library, and he offered to carry some of my books,” Reid replied.  
  
Daryl glanced at the bed, which he assumed was Reid’s. “If ya don’t like it in here, yer welcome to check out the guard tower. There’s some pillows an’ blankets up there”.  
Morgan nodded and sat down on his bed, eying Reid as Daryl left. “Are you sure you want to hang out with him? He seems pretty rough around the edges”.  
  
“He’s actually been polite to me. He offered to take me out hunting,” Reid supplied.  
  
Morgan tried and failed to hold in a laugh. “You? Hunting?” Morgan fell back on the bed in a fit of laughter.  
  
Spencer scowled and stowed his books under the bed. “I’m going to go find Hotch and tell him about the guard towers”. The only response he got was more laughter.  
  
Hotch looked up as Spencer silently peered inside his cell. “Jack’s asleep. He was out of it as soon as his head hit the pillow,” Hotch whispered.  
Reid beckoned Hotch out of the cell. “I think we should go check out the guard towers.” He led the way to the exit doors at Hotch’s nod of approval. Rossi was in the cell right next to his, and he knew that he would keep an eye on Jack.  
CM  
Over the next several months, Spencer spent much of his time reading in the guard tower and chatting with Daryl. Daryl never talked much but seemed interested in what Reid had to say. Hotch and Reid had grown very close, and Jack had become good friends with Carl, and spent the night in his cell from time to time. On this particular morning, Hotch and Reid were getting ready to begin their watch shift in the tower. It was a chilly day, so Hotch was bringing an extra blanket for them.  
  
When they entered the tower, Reid immediately sat in his usual spot in the corner. Hotch sat next to him but tried to keep a reasonable distance between Reid and himself. He had been developing feelings for the boy even before the apocalypse but was trying to keep them contained. He was jolted out of his thoughts when Reid laid his head on his shoulder. Immediately, Hotch thought something was wrong, given how Reid was not a fan of human contact.  
  
“Spencer? Are you alright?”  
  
Reid glanced up at Hotch’s face, shocked that the man had called him by his first name. “I’m really cold,” he whispered.  
  
Hotch stared into Reid’s eyes for a few seconds, before taking the plunge and brushing his lips against the other man’s.  
CM  
“Aaron!” Rick called into the prison yard.  
  
Rossi looked up and regarded Rick curiously. “What do you need him for?”  
  
“I’m going on a run, and I want him to come with me,” Rick replied, seemingly irritated that Rossi had questioned him.  
  
Rossi narrowed his eyes and gestured up to the guard tower. Shortly after, Daryl emerged from around the side of the prison. He looked up as Rick called for Hotch again. Three pairs of eyes snapped up to the tower when the door opened to reveal a shirtless Hotch.  
  
“What do you want?” He called to Rick, none too happy about being disturbed.  
  
“I want you to come on a run with me,” Rick called back.  
  
Hotch sighed and began to turn back to the door, surprised to see that Reid had also emerged, shirtless as well. He glanced down at Rick, and his eyes widened when his gaze fell on Daryl. The man was looking at he and Hotch with a shocked look. Before Reid could react, Daryl turned on his heel and stormed into the prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Poor Daryl.


	4. Our House, in the Middle of the Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick does something which makes the group question who should really hold the power at the prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Our House by Madness.

Reid hastily pulled on his shirt and ran down the tower steps. “Sorry, I need to talk to Daryl,” he called back at Hotch. It wasn’t long before Reid found Daryl sitting in his cell, fiddling with his crossbow. Daryl didn’t look up when he entered the room.  
  
“Daryl?” Reid whispered.  
  
Daryl looked up and pinned Reid with his stare. “Is this what ya want?” he gruffed.  
  
Spencer was confused for a moment, before realizing what Daryl meant. “He isn’t taking advantage of me. I can take care of myself,” Reid sighed, angry that Daryl, like so many others, wasn’t taking him seriously. He took a step back when Daryl stood up and stepped closer.  
  
“If he ever hurts ya, I’ll kill ‘em,” Darly whispered, fists clenched at his side.  
  
Spencer was taken aback by the outburst but smiled. “He won’t Daryl, he’s not like that”.  
Daryl looked down, letting his bangs hide his face. “What’d ya learn from that book?”  
CM  
Hotch stood on the steps of the guard tower, confused as to why Spencer had run after Daryl.  
  
“Aaron! Are you coming or not?” Rack called again.  
  
Hotch fixed his glare on Rick. “What exactly is so important that we need to leave right this second?”  
  
Rick glanced at Rossi, before looking back at Hotch. “We should talk in private.”  
  
“Whatever you have to say to me, you can say to Dave,” Hotch seethed. At this point, Morgan had exited the prison to see what the ruckus was. Hotch descended the remaining stairs and came to stand in front of Rick, looming a few inches over him. Rick glared up at Hotch, unhappy that his dominance was being challenged.  
  
“There’s a man – calls himself the Governor. He runs a community called Woodbury. They’re planning on attacking us, but I wanna attack first,” Rick explained.  
  
“Oh, no, we aren’t getting sucked into your problems!” Morgan exclaimed.  
  
Rick turned to glare at Morgan. “They became your problems when you agreed to come back with us”.  
  
While Rick had his back turned, Hotch grabbed his shoulder. Rick spun around and punched Hotch in the face, catching him by surprise. The resulting fist to Rick’s face sent him flying to the ground. “You’ll pay for that!” He gasped.  
  
“I don’t think so,” Hotch replied as he held Rick’s wrists behind his back. He led Rick back in the prison and sat him down at a bench in the dining area, where most of the group had congregated. Daryl emerged from the back of the group and looked at Rick questioningly.  
  
“Rick just told me that he plans on attacking a community that has done nothing to us!” Hotch announced.  
  
“That’s not true! They attacked Michonne!” Rick spat as he tried to struggle out of Hotch’s hold.  
  
A black woman at the back of the room stepped forward but said nothing.  
  
Hotch glanced at her and tightened his grip on Rick’s wrists. “I’d like to know who sides with Rick, in leaving the prison to go God knows where and attack that community”.  
  
Daryl stepped closer and laid a hand on Hotch’s shoulder, before pulling Rick away. He whispered something in Rick’s ear and sat him down on the bench.  
  
Hershel, an older man who was the father to Maggie and Beth stepped forward. “I’ve been meaning to bring this up, and I think this is the perfect time. I think that we need a council to make democratic decisions”.  
  
Hotch pondered a moment before replying: “how would we decide who’s on the council?”  
  
Hershel smiled. “That’s an easy answer. Let the people choose”.  
  
After some debate, it was decided that everyone would write down who would be the leader of the council, and the other members. After reading all of the papers, Hershel approached the front of the room. “The leader of the council is Aaron, and the members are myself, Glenn, David, and Dereck”.  
  
Rick stood and silently left the room, with Daryl at his heels.  
CM  
“Who the hell is he to just come in here and take over?” Rick roared.  
  
Daryl sat silently on the bed and gestured for Rick to join him. Rick sat down, and Daryl pulled him into a kiss. Rick melted into it and allowed Daryl to maneuver him into laying down on the bed.  
CM  
Spencer swiftly walked down the hallway after leaving the meeting, excited to show Daryl a new book that he had found in the library. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that Daryl’s cell was closed, and there was a blanket hanging to block anyone from seeing inside. He could hear Daryl and Rick talking in hushed voices. Spencer smiled and walked away. He’d have to tell Daryl about the book later. He was just glad he knew why Daryl talked about Rick with such reverence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit will be going down in the next chapter. Be prepared!


	5. I Cry When Angels Deserve to Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a vicious attack on the prison, Hotch and the team try to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid confusion, I just left out the mysterious sickness that swept through the prison in the show.
> 
> Title from Chop Suey! by System of a Down

The prison was deathly quiet as Hotch made his morning rounds past row upon row of cells. Jack was outside “gardening” with Carl, although he knew that they were just playing in the mud.  
  
“Hey Aaron”, Glenn called. “Emily found a cabin a few miles out with a lot of guns and rounds, but she only looked in through the window. She and Hershel want to go check look inside. What do you think?”  
  
Hotch studied Glenn for a second. Glenn was an honest man that always put others before himself. He wouldn’t have a problem with them going unless he though it was too risky. “Why are you asking me? You know that Prentiss and Hershel are more than capable of taking care of themselves. Is it in a dangerous area?”  
  
Glenn worried his lip between his teeth. “I know they are. Hell, Hershel lost his leg and is still going, and I saw Emily take out a walker with a screwdriver. But I saw some men out there yesterday on my run that I didn’t recognize. They were driving armored vehicles and didn’t look very friendly". Glenn glanced down at his feet as he kicked at a pebble. “Do you think it’s worth it? I figured that if you didn’t want them to go, you could talk Emily out of it, because you’re their leader”.  
  
Hotch gave Glenn an odd look and stepped further into his personal space, forcing him to make eye contact. “Yes, I am their leader, but I’m not their boss anymore. Prentiss can do whatever she wants. She has our best interest at heart, because we are running dangerously low on rounds”.  
  
Glenn silently nodded and turned to leave, before turning to look back at the other man. “They’re leaving soon. They’re taking the truck and a few rifles just in case they run into trouble”. He then turned and made his way back toward the end of the row of cells, presumably to get back to Maggie.  
  
Deciding that he should try to talk to Rick instead of giving into the childish silent treatment that Rick insisted on, Hotch began to make his way toward Rick’s cell. When he arrived, he found that the cell was closed, and that ratty old blanket was haphazardly hung to obstruct the view of anyone wanting to look inside. “Rick?” He called. Shuffling came from within the cell before the blanket was ripped down by a none-too-pleased Daryl. Hotch peeked over Daryl’s shoulder to see Rick sitting on the bed, trying desperately to smooth down his wild hair.  
  
Rick finally looked up and glared at Hotch. “What do you want?” He sneered. Hotch fought the urge to roll his eyes into the back of his head at Rick’s snotty tone.  
  
“If you’re finished acting like a sixth grader arguing with his mother, could we please discuss the men that Glenn saw on his run yesterday. He usually doesn’t get too spooked about things, and he seemed worried,” Hotch ground out, unimpressed with Rick’s overall attitude.  
  
Rick glanced at Daryl, and nodded, before opening the cell and letting Hotch enter and Daryl exit. As soon as he was sure Daryl was gone, Hotch turned to Rick and said, “I understand that you’re upset with me, but you have to understand that you can’t just throw your authority around like that. If we went to war with the Governor, we would have lost too many people for nothing”.  
  
Rick put his arms on his hips and sighed. “The Governor is a huge threat to us. He tried to kill Michonne and almost made Daryl and his brother fight to the death. He’s probably planning to attack us right now”.  
  
“Even if he is planning to attack us, we can try to negotiate something with him. No one has to die. I’m done losing people; my son has already lost his mother,” Hotch whispered, trying to hide the emotions that were welling up in his chest.  
  
“My son lost his mother too, but we can’t let that stop us from doing what’s right”.  
  
CM  
  
Prentiss put the truck in park as she and Hershel pulled up to the old cabin. She had happened upon it a few days ago and could see dozens of weapons through the window. The only reason she didn’t go inside was because of the herd of walkers that had just crested the hill in the distance. “Are you ready for this, Hershel?” She asked.  
  
Hershel looked up and nodded. “If we hurry, we can be in and out fairly quickly without drawing any attention to ourselves,” the old man stated, climbing out of the car and putting his weight on his good leg.  
  
The pair quietly made their way through the unlocked door of the cabin, before beginning to grab every weapon they could get their hands on. As Prentiss was reaching for an AK 47 propped against the wall, she froze at the sound of a gun being cocked behind her head. “Turn around real slow, and no one will get hurt”.  
  
She debated internally for a few seconds, before turning to face a tall man with an eyepatch over his right eye. “Are you part of Rick’s group?” He asked in a low southern drawl. Prentiss silently nodded and glanced at Hershel, who was cornered by a Hispanic man. “In that case, you’re coming with us. We’re going to pay old Rick a visit”.  
  
CM  
  
Hotch had been debating with the council about the Governor for the past twenty minutes when he heard the screaming. He and Glenn were the first to jump up and sprint towards the prison yard, before running into a very distraught Beth. “He’s got my dad and Emily!”  
  
Before he could ask who exactly was holding them, a loud voice bellowed toward him. “Rick! Stop being a coward and talk to me face to face!”  
  
As Hotch began to make his way toward the voice, Rick sprinted past him and out into the yard. “You don’t have to do this!” Rick yelled. “We can compromise!”  
  
Hotch’s eyes widened as he stepped outside and saw a man with an eyepatch standing behind Prentiss and Hershel, who were on their knees. Several armored cars and a tank sat behind them.  
  
“That time has come and gone, Rick. We’re going to take this prison and kill you and all of your people,” the Governor gruffed, pure hatred dripping from his lips. He suddenly walked to one of the armored cars and returned with a large axe.  
  
“I’m not in charge anymore. We have a congress. We can talk this out and live together, you know we can!” Rick cried, desperate for the Governor to listen to him.  
  
The man stared at Rick, seemingly considering his offer before narrowing his eyes. “Liar,” he whispered, before swinging the axe and hitting Hershel in the neck. Beth and Maggie began to cry, and Rick ran toward the fence screaming: “no!” Before Hotch could react, several people including Rick and Carl opened fire on the man and his followers. As he turned to run and find Jack, he saw Prentiss dive behind one of the vehicles.  
  
As he entered the prison, he found Reid carrying Jack and running toward him. “What’s going on?” Reid asked, concern written across his face.  
  
“The prison is being attacked by a mad man. He killed Hershel”.  
  
Reid’s eyes widened, and he passed Jack to his father. “What should we do?”  
  
“We need to gather up the team and try to get out of here. This isn’t our fight”.  
  
Reid nodded and turned to run the other way. “I’ll go find them! They’re probably in their cells”.  
  
Content that Reid would find them, Hotch turned to go to his cell, hoping to gather up some supplies, when a loud sound rang through the air, making the whole prison shake. Gathering up Jack, he ran to look outside, seeing Rick getting into a savage fight with the Governor.  
  
“Hotch!” A voice from behind called. Hotch turned to see Reid quickly approaching with JJ, Morgan, and Rossi following closely behind.  
  
“We need to get out of here. This is Rick’s fight, not ours”. Hotch was pleased when no one objected. Unfortunately, the only exit that wasn’t blocked was the main entrance, which was where the fight was happening.  
  
Morgan stepped forward. “I know that it’s a shitstorm out there, but we need to go. It’s not safe here anymore”. The team silently agreed and made their way toward the gunfight outside. As they exited the building, Reid gasped at the sight in front of him: the prison gates had fallen due to the tank running over them, and the dead were starting to swarm in. Carl ran by with Judith in his arms, attempting to make it to one of the prison buses. Seizing the opportunity, Hotch caught Carl’s arm.  
  
“Can you take Jack on the bus? I’ll be right there”. He wouldn’t normally leave Jack in the hands of a teenager, but he needed to make sure there was a place where they could safely drive the bus to get away from the prison. As he began to turn to Reid, he gasped at the searing pain that erupted across his leg. Hotch glanced down to see copious amounts of blood running down his leg. Just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, he heard a scream from the direction of the bus. To his horror, he saw a walker approaching Carl, who was trying to keep it away from Jack and Judith.  
  
Hotch limped toward them as quickly as he could, but before he could make it to them, another walker emerged from behind the bus and sank its teeth into Jack’s neck. “No!” He screeched, before limping the rest of the way to his son and sinking his knife into the walker’s head. Several moans came from behind them as at least a dozen walkers came into view. Hotch’s injured leg wouldn’t allow him to walk very quickly, and before he could stop it, several walkers ripped Jack from his grasp. He grabbed onto Jack’s legs and pulled him back, cradling him to his chest before trying to limp away from the walkers. By this time, most of them were preoccupied with devouring Judith. Carl had gotten away and was running in the other direction, and several walkers were following him.

“Aaron, I’m so sorry, but there’s nothing we can do,” Rossi’s comforting voice whispered in his ear. The blood loss from the gunshot wound on his leg was making him dizzy, and Morgan was easily able to manhandle him to a safer part of the prison yard. “Stay here. I’m going to go help Pretty Boy”.

As Morgan disappeared from view, Hotch smoothed the hair out of Jack’s face that was matted down with blood. “Jack,” he whispered. “Look at me”.

Jack’s eyes were unfocused and stared at nothing as he struggled to breath through his own blood. Hotch placed his hand on Jack’s neck, trying to stop the bleeding, but there was too much. With a final frantic jerk, Jack stopped moving, his mouth going slack.  
“No… not you, Jack,” Hotch strangled out. In his grief-stricken state, he tried to give Jack CPR for several minutes, before Rossi grabbed his shoulder.

“Aaron he’s gone. I’m so sorry”.

Hotch sobbed and hugged Jack to his chest, unwilling to let go. Rossi turned to Morgan, who was struggling with a several walkers, and left Hotch, hoping that he would stay there. Hotch hugged Jack tighter, before trying to stand up, but he was dizzy from blood loss, and fell back down before plunging into darkness.


	6. I Really Wanna Know: Who are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team must deal with the latest tragic turn of events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter jumps to different points of view several times, but I marked it with the "CM" line break.
> 
> Title from Who are You by The Who

Reid desperately fought to climb to the roof of the bus. Morgan had disappeared with Hotch and Rossi had gone to try and help JJ, who was consoling Carl over the loss of his sister. Judith had sadly been eaten alive by walkers. After he made it on top of the bus, he glanced around. His team was nowhere in sight. “I should just wait for them here,” he whispered to himself. "There are too many walkers surrounding the bus, and its statistically impossible that I’d be able to kill them all without getting bitten”.  
  
Almost an hour had passed when Reid deemed it safe enough to climb down from the bus. Most of the walkers had made their way to the burning tank, which had been blown up by a grenade that Daryl threw. Reid began to try to climb down and sighed in frustration. As he stretched out his leg to try and slide to the hood of the bus, he screeched as something grabbed his foot. The telltale groans of a walker filled the air as it pulled at him, preparing to feed. Reid lost his grip on the hood of the bus and fell onto the walker, putting all of his weight on his arm with a sickening crunch. The walker was beginning to struggle and was trying desperately to snap at Reid’s arm. Suddenly, a bolt flew through the walker’s head and it fell to the ground.  
  
“Spencer!” A gruff voice called. Reid smiled with relief when Daryl approached him before pulling him up. “We have to get out of here. The dead are everywhere and most of the group has already fled. The Governor is dead”.  
  
“What about my team?” Reid asked.  
  
We’ll run into ‘em on the road. I’m sure they’re lookin’ for ya”.  
  
Daryl grabbed Reid’s arm and began pulling him toward the area where the fence had fallen, but quickly let go when Reid cried out in pain. Daryl stopped and looked at Reid, worry written across his face. "What’s wrong? Are ya bit?”  
  
“No, but my arm is definitely broken,” Reid said as he gently probed his arm. “I’m certain that it’s a radial fracture”.  
  
Daryl nodded and continued toward the fence, with Reid following closely behind. After running far enough into the surrounding woods that they were sure no walkers had followed them, Reid finally turned to Daryl. “The broken bone in my arm needs to be set, but I can’t do it alone. I can make sure that the bone is straight, but then I need you to bind it with something, preferably rope or twine”.  
  
Daryl took a step back and shook his head. “Nah, man. I’ve never done nothin’ like that. What if I hurt ya?”  
  
“I’ll make sure that you don’t; I trust you”. Reid then turned and began to look along the forest floor for some sticks that looked strong enough to be used as a splint. After finding four sticks, he faced Daryl, who had pulled some twine from his pocket. Reid eyed it and Daryl shrugged.  
  
“Good thing I was carryin’ this”.  
  
Reid handed Daryl the sticks. “Okay, so you’ll have to space them evenly around my arm, and then tightly wrap the twine around them so they won’t be able to move”.  
  
Daryl did as Reid asked, and winced when Spencer whimpered. “Are ya sure you’re okay?”  
  
Reid nodded. “I’ve been in worse pain before. Ideally, we would need to find a drug store with medical supplies to properly bind my arm. It wouldn’t be a cast, but it would be clean and better than sticks and twine”.  
  
“We should probably try to find ya’ some pain medicine. We’re not gonna be able to rest much, so you’ll need it,” Daryl muttered as he put the finishing touches on the makeshift splint.  
  
“No pain medicine. I’ll be fine,” Reid hurriedly told Daryl.  
  
Daryl eyed Reid for a second. “I know you, Spencer. This will be killing you. Besides, I know which ones will work best”.  
  
“I said no, Daryl,” Reid snapped.  
  
Daryl seemed taken aback by the outburst but dropped it.  
  
CM  
  
Hotch blearily opened his eyes when he felt someone shaking him. “Hey, dude. Are you okay? That’s a nasty wound on your leg”.  
  
Slowly, his eyesight focused on a young woman standing above him. “Who…?”  
  
“I’m Tara. I stopped following the Governor when I saw what he did to that poor old man”. She glanced around before looking back at Hotch. “Do you know where the rest of your people went? Hopefully they didn’t abandon you”.  
  
Fear sunk into Hotch’s stomach as he glanced around, realizing that Tara was telling the truth: everyone from his team was gone. “My son. Have you seen my son? He’s got blonde hair…” He trailed off when Tara interrupted him.  
  
“I’ve walked all over this prison trying to find survivors. Everyone is gone. Where did you see him last?”  
  
“He was getting on the bus with Carl, and then… oh God,” Hotch chocked. “There were so many walkers. Jack got bitten, and I didn’t have it in me to put him down”. Despite his usually stoic manner, Hotch began to cry, wet tears leaving tracks down his face. He had no idea if someone else had put Jack down, or if he had turned and wandered off.  
  
Tara placed a tentative hand on Hotch’s back. “I’m really sorry, but we need to get out of here. All of this commotion will probably draw walkers from miles around”. She then wrapped her arm around Hotch and tried to pull him up. He was dizzy from blood loss, and the sudden movement sent his head spinning. “Dude, you need to help me out. You’re twice my size, and I’m doing all the work”.  
  
Hotch glanced down at his leg, realizing that a bandana had been tied tightly around the wound. “If I don’t clean this soon, it will get infected,” he murmured.  
  
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll clean it later. But right now, you need to move your sorry ass before I change my mind and let the walkers have you,” Tara laughed, and Hotch honestly couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.  
  
With wobbly legs, he finally managed to stand up, and leaned heavily on Tara. They then began to make their way towards the woods on the other side of the fallen prison gates.  
  
“The main road is just a few miles through these trees. I think if we follow it, we should run into your people”.  
  
Hotch grit his teeth and tried to concentrate on anything but the pain in his leg. Deciding that talking with Tara was a good distraction, he glanced up at her. “Why are you helping me? You don’t even know me”.  
  
Tara gave him a crooked smile. “Well, someone who I didn’t know helped me. I guess it’s just out of stupid hope that if I help you, then someday you’ll help me”.  
  
Hotch chuckled, which sounded more like a pained grunt. “I don’t think it’s stupid”.  
  
There was an awkward silence before Tara spoke again. “So, who was on your team?” She had no idea what he had meant by “team” but she would just roll with it.  
  
“There’s JJ, Prentiss, Rossi, Morgan, and… Reid”. He forced out Reid’s name, as it had gotten caught in his throat.  
  
“Who’s Reid? Was he important to you?” Tara asked, genuine curiousness creeping into her voice.  
  
Hotch sighed. This really wasn’t any of her business, but given that she had just saved his life, he relented. “He’s my… significant other. We’ve only been seeing each other for a few months”. He could feel the blush creeping into his cheeks and down his neck.  
  
Suddenly, Tara laughed and shook his shoulder. “Dude, no need to be embarrassed. I’m gay too”.  
  
Hotch spluttered. “I’m not gay,” he seethed.  
  
“Oookay, keep telling yourself that,” Tara chortled, very pleased with herself.  
  
CM  
  
Morgan slowly opened the door to the car that he, Prentiss, JJ, and Rossi had stowed away in. As the prison was getting overrun by walkers, they had tried to get to Reid, but there were too many of them. They had run about a mile down the road and taken refuge in the abandoned car and planned on going back for Hotch and Reid after the walkers had dissipated.  
  
After making sure that the coast was clear, he turned to Rossi. “The coast’s clear. Now let’s go back for Hotch and Pretty Boy,” he whispered.  
  
They all stepped out of the car and began to make their way back towards the prison.  
  
“Do you think that Reid will wait for us to come back for him?” JJ asked. “It’s been several hours, at least”.  
  
“Reid is smart enough to know that we’d come back. Maybe he’s even found Hotch already”, Prentiss pointed out.  
  
They all turned to look at Rossi when he cleared his throat. “He probably already left to look for us. If he stayed there, he’d just be a sitting duck for the walkers to pick at”.  
  
Morgan gave him a look that said: “seriously?” and JJ narrowed her eyes.  
  
“I’m just being realistic,” Rossi explained.  
  
After walking for several minutes in an uncomfortable silence, Morgan began to sprint towards the prison when it came into view. Not waiting for the rest of the team to catch up, he ran to the last place he had seen Reid: the prison bus. “Pretty Boy!” He hissed. “Where are you?” He cringed at the blood and gore that was splattered all across the ground and the side of the bus. He didn’t want to accept it, but he knew that it was most likely all that was left of Jack and Judith.  
  
Finally, JJ, Prentiss, and Rossi made their way to the bus. “Did you find him?” JJ asked.  
  
“No. I can’t find Reid or Hotch,” Morgan seethed, pissed that Reid had left without them.  
  
“Oh, God,” Prentiss gasped. “Do you think that they…?”  
  
“No,” Rossi reassured her. “We haven’t found their bodies, and I know that both of them are too smart to get killed in a situation like this. I think our best course of action is to follow the main road. If they got out, that’s where they’d go”.  
  
CM  
  
“Dude, that’s disgusting,” Tara gagged. She had been watching Hotch dig and wipe at his bullet wound for the past half hour.  
  
Hotch glared at her. “The bullet didn’t go straight through, so I need to pull it out. It will fester if I don’t”. Just as he finished his explanation, the bullet popped out along with a stream of blood.  
  
Tara stared at it, then turned and promptly vomited on the ground.  
  
Hotch rolled his eyes and wrapped the bandana back around his leg. He froze when he heard leaves rustling behind them. Instinctively, he grabbed his gun and spun around.  
  
“Easy, tiger. I’m not gonna hurt you,” a man with red hair announced as he stepped through the trees. “I got separated from my group and wondered if you’ve seen them”.  
  
Hotch narrowed his eyes. “We haven’t seen anyone since we’ve been on this road”. He then looked the man up and down, noticing that he was carrying a machine gun and was wearing camo pants. “Who are you?”  
  
“The name’s Sargent Abraham Ford, and it looks like we’re neck deep in shit creek with our mouths wide open”.


	7. Dear Agony, Just Let Go of Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short snippets as we follow some of the groups.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Dear Agony by Breaking Benjamin.

Rick limped after his son, trying to keep up, but his many bruises and possible fractures kept him from doing so.

“Carl, slow down,” Rick rasped, almost inaudible due to his lack of voice. He visibly retracted when Carl gave him the coldest glare that he had ever seen. Carl then turned and continued walking, far ahead of his father.  
  
Rick was dumbfounded. Sure, Carl had acted out before, but never anything like this. And Rick hadn’t done anything to upset him, as far as he knew. Feeling that he should concentrate on walking rather than why his son was angry with him, Rick tried to ignore the pain that shot up his legs with every step he took.  
  
CM  
  
Hotch continued to stare at the strange red-headed man, apparently named Abraham, as the man fiddled with his machine gun. “How exactly did you get separated from your group?”  
  
Abraham slightly turned his head to side-eye Hotch before replying, “a big herd of walkers surrounded us before we even knew they were coming”. For seemingly the first time, he looked Hotch up and down, taking in his bloodied appearance. “What happened to you?”

“Another group attacked our camp and I got shot in the crossfire,” Hotch deadpanned.

“Ah, the old “wrong place at the wrong time” deal, huh?” Abraham chuckled.  
  
Hotch’s eyes narrowed. “Sure.” He then tried to stand, not wanting to let his wound deter his ability to take care of himself, but eventually gave up and motioned for Tara to help him.

“And what about you, Little Lady?” Abraham asked.

“None of your damn business,” Tara seethed.  
  
Abraham’s eyes widened, before he took a step back and fell into a full belly-laugh. “Oooh, feisty! I like you!”  
  
Hotch glared at Abraham. “I would refrain from saying anything like that again.”  
  
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Mr. Stick-Up-My-Ass, I’m just messing with her.”  
  
The steam was almost visible as it rose from Hotch’s ears.  
  
CM  
  
Daryl glanced over at Spencer for the fifth time as they slowly made their way through the woods. It had been three days, and he was sure that they would reach civilization soon. The only problem was that Spencer had revealed a gash on his leg that he had required from the fall off the bus, and while they had been trying to keep it clean, it had become infected.

“Spencer,” Daryl gruffed. “Are ya sure yer okay?”

Reid nodded jerkily. “I’m certain that I have a small fever, but if we find a drug store soon, I’ll be able to find some NSAIDs that will lower it”.  
  
Daryl narrowed his eyes, but kept his mouth shut, considering what happened the last time he brought up pain medicine. Another ten minutes passed, and before Daryl could react, Reid began to lose his balance and collapsed.  
  
“Spencer!” Daryl yelled, and knelt to role Reid over. He felt his chest, and thankfully he was still breathing. What scared him was that Reid was extremely hot and clammy. “Small fever” my ass”. After double checking that Reid wasn’t bitten, Daryl picked him up and carried him bridal style to the base of a small tree where he could set up camp. After setting Reid down, Daryl examined his splint, making sure that it was still set properly. Feeling safe enough to rest, he then sat next to Reid, quietly looking around the forest. Daryl suddenly flinched when Reid leaned against him, subconsciously seeking comfort in his sleep. He hesitated for a moment before putting his arm around Reid, vowing that he would never let anything hurt him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short. I felt bad because I hadn't updated in a while, but I have several papers for college that I have to write.


	8. I’m Wanted Dead or Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Reid recovers from his fever, he and Daryl find a sight for sore eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi.

Daryl slowly blinked open his eyes as the sun shone through his eyelids. A weight was against his side, and confusion swept over him, until he remembered the night before. He smiled down softly at Spencer’s mop of hair; it had grown significantly since he and his team had come to the prison. Now, it was tangled and sweaty from being in the woods for four days.

“Spencer, wake up,” Daryl yawned.

Spencer didn’t move. Daryl slightly shook him, and terror’s icy fingertips squeezed his heart when Spencer didn’t respond.

“No, Spencer, this can’t be it!” Daryl maneuvered Spencer until he was laying on the ground and put his ear against his chest. Daryl sighed in relief when he heard a heartbeat, but Spencer’s skin was scorching hot. He needed to find some water, and fast, or Spencer could easily overheat to the point of death. Daryl was nervous about leaving Spencer alone, but he couldn’t carry him around because if he ran into trouble, he would need to make a hasty escape. Compromising, Daryl found a small clearing that was shielded on all sides by trees, and hid Spencer there. He glanced around to make sure there wasn’t any immediate danger, then grabbed his crossbow and set off to find clean water.  
  
CM  
  
“You guys might want to take a look at this,” Tara called, waving Abraham and Hotch over to a large wooden sign.  
  
Hotch limped closer and read it skeptically aloud. “Sanctuary for all, community for all. Those who arrive survive”. He let his eyes wander further down the sign to a map, with a dot marking where the place was. “Terminus,” he sighed, “that doesn’t sound very promising”.

Abraham walked up behind him to observe the sign, then clapped Hotch on the shoulder. “This might be your only chance to find your friends, because this is probably where they went”.

Hotch glanced at Abraham and sighed. “You’re probably right, but I would hope my team would be smart enough to see that this is too good to be true. This place probably fell months ago, just like all the other rescue centers”. Despite his doubts, he pulled a large marker out of his bag (Tara had found it the day before and insisted it would come in handy) and wrote: MEET ME AT TERMINUS. – HOTCHNER on the sign.

Abraham shrugged and grabbed his gun, continuing down the road. Tara walked over to Hotch, offering her shoulder for him.

“No, I can walk on my own,” Hotch grunted as he waved her away.

“Dude, you’ve been limping around on that leg for four days now, and no offense, but you’re slowing us down,” Tara whispered, not wanting Abraham to hear that she was worried about Hotch. “Please, just let me help you. I can tell you’re in pain”.

Hotch sighed and relented, wrapping his arm around Tara’s shoulder to lean on her side. Then, slowly but surely, they started making their way towards Terminus.

CM

“Emily!” Morgan whispered. “We need to move! I can hear the walkers coming!”

“I’m trying!” Prentiss grunted as she continued to shove cans of fruit into her backpack. She, Morgan, JJ, and Rossi had found an abandoned house on the highway and had decided to look around since they had run out of food the day before. Prentiss slung the bag over her shoulder, and ran from the house, meeting the rest of the team outside. Loud moans coming from the distance confirmed that there was indeed a herd of walkers coming. The rest of the team picked up their belongings and continued down the road.  
  
They had walked about a mile when Rossi suddenly stopped them. “Look at that, up the road”.  
  
JJ squinted at the object, as the heat glare from the road was blinding. “It looks like some kind of sign”.  
  
They all quickly jogged toward the sign, and Morgan’s jaw dropped. “Meet me at Terminus,” he read out loud. “And it’s from Hotch!”  
  
Prentiss reached up and touched the writing, which slightly smeared. “This was written with some kind of felt pen, and it’s still wet, so that means that he’s not too far ahead of us”.  
  
Rossi looked up the long stretch of road ahead and sighed. “This place most likely doesn’t exist anymore, but if it means that we’ll see Aaron again, we should go”.

CM

THWAK!  
Daryl smirked as his bolt hit the squirrel he was aiming at. He had successfully found a stream with water that looked clean (he would boil it when he got back to camp) and decided to get some lunch as well. He pulled the bolt out of the animal and stuffed the squirrel in his pocket.  
  
When he finally got back to the clearing, he sighed in relief to see Spencer where he left him but was also concerned that he hadn’t moved in the hour that he had been gone. Daryl felt Spencer’s neck, and feeling relieved that he found a pulse, started to gather sticks to build a fire to boil the water.  
  
After finding several dozen twigs, Daryl put them in a pile and lit them with his flint. He then hung his metal canteen on a larger stick and let it dangle over the fire. He would have to wait a while for it to boil, so he wandered over to sit by Spencer. After he was settled, he pulled Spencer’s head into his lap and pulled his sweaty hair away from his face. A small moan made him jerk, and he stared warily down at Spencer, grabbing his knife just in case. Spencer’s eyes twitched, then slowly opened, and turned to look up at Daryl.

“Wha’ happened?” Spencer grumbled.

Daryl chuckled at how a fever could reduce Spencer’s giant brain to groggy mush. “You’re “small fever” made you pass out, genius”.  
  
Spencer’s eyes widened, and he tried to sit up, groaning when his head started spinning. Daryl grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down to lay in his lap.

“How long was I out?” Spencer whispered. 

“Only for a couple hours,” Daryl sighed. His eyes widened when Spencer began to cry. “What’s wrong?” He asked.  
  
Spencer sniffled and looked up at him with puffy eyes. “I could have gotten you killed, all because I ignored my injuries. I’ve hurt too many of my friends over petty, stupid mistakes”.

“Hey,” Daryl whispered. “’S fine. Ya didn’t know yer fever would get that high, and don’t you ever think that this is your fault. I’m still here, and I’ll be here till the day I die”.

CM  
  
Hotch, Tara, and Abraham had been walking for a few hours when they found a small neighborhood that looked relatively untouched. Hotch had insisted that they try to pick the lock on the house they had chosen, but his words died on his tongue when Abraham body-slammed the door, breaking it open.  
  
“Hey!” Hotch yelled as they entered the house, attempting to draw out any lurking walkers. They waited for about a minute, and when nothing came, he shut the door. The place seemed nice enough, and there was a comfy looking couch, and even a pantry full of food.  
  
“I’m going to take a nap,” Hotch sighed as he plopped down on the couch. He would have insisted on scoping out the rest of the neighborhood, but his leg was killing him, and he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in four days.  
  
Tara nodded and kindly went upstairs, returning with a fluffy blanket. Hotch nodded his thanks and laid down, allowing his eyes to drift shut.  
  
“Hotch!” A voice suddenly whispered in his ear.  
  
Hotch shot up, eyes wide and muscles tense. He glanced at the window, and the sky was a dark orange, meaning that he had been asleep for a few hours. “What’s wrong?” He whispered to Tara.

“There are two guys outside knocking on the door, and I have no idea who they are,” Tara hissed.

Hotch rose from the coach and silently walked to the door, peering through the peep-hole. Tara flinched in surprise when Hotch cried out in relief, beginning to pull the wood boards (that he assumed either Tara or Abraham had nailed up) from the door. Tara rushed forward to help him, and when they were all removed, he flung open the door, and flung his arms around Reid.

“Spencer. I thought I’d lost you!” Hotch whispered, burying his face in Reid’s hair.

Reid smiled and hugged Hotch back, tears beginning to fall down his face. He felt Hotch pulling back and sighed when he pulled him into a kiss. Tara smirked, and Abraham stared with his jaw hanging open.

“How did you find us?” Hotch finally asked after he and Reid had shared several kisses.

Reid smiled and looked up at Daryl. “Daryl found your footprints in the mud. We didn’t know for sure if they were yours, but we thought it was worth investigating…” Reid trailed off when he saw how Hotch was looking at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Spencer, your arm! What happened?”

Reid glanced down at his arm and sighed. “I fell off the bus at the prison when a walker attacked me”. He spluttered when Hotch grabbed him and pulled him inside, moving toward the couch. As he was walking, Reid noticed his limp. “What happened to your leg?!”

“I got shot by one of the Governor’s people when the prison fell,” Hotch sighed.

Reid leaned in to Hotch’s side as they sat on the couch, and eyed Tara and Abraham. “Who are they?”

“This is Tara, and this is Abraham,” Hotch explained, gesturing to them respectively. He then turned to Daryl. “Thank you for getting him here,” he said with gratitude in his eyes.  
  
Daryl nodded silently with a slight smile on his face. “Spencer’s a fighter, but a fever almost took him from us”.  
  
Hotch’s eyes widened and he turned to look at Reid, who had averted his eyes. Hotch linked their fingers together and lightly squeezed, letting Reid know that he was safe. “There’s a place that I think we should go to. The rest of the team might be there already”.

CM  
  
Rick scanned the horizon in search of any buildings over the line of trees. He and Carl had been on the road for a few days, and along the way, they found Michonne wandering by herself. He was about to motion for Carl and Michonne to follow when a sudden noise made him freeze. He quickly turned toward the trees, gun at the ready, but stopped when he saw Daryl exiting the tree line, crossbow raised. Quickly lowering his gun, Rick ran to Daryl, throwing his arms around him.  
  
Daryl smiled and kissed Rick’s temple. “’S alright. I got ya,” Daryl murmered.

“How did you find us?” Rick asked.

“We heard your loud-ass footsteps through the woods, dumbass,” Daryl chuckled, and Rick looked up as several more people exited the trees.

Carl’s eyes brightened when he saw Hotch, and he ran to him. “I’m sorry about Jack,” he whispered.

Hotch gave him a small smile. “It wasn’t your fault. Don’t be sorry,” he whispered back as he adjusted Carl’s cowboy hat on his head. He then reached into his pocket and handed Carl his badge. "Here. I should have given this to you at the prison. It will protect you, and you'll know that I'll always be there". Carl gave him a half smile and took the badge, rubbing it with his fingers, before putting it in his pocket and turning to his dad.

“We should tell them about Terminus”.

Rick looked from Carl to Hotch, narrowing his eyes. "Why do you need his badge?"

"Because Hotch is cool, dad. He's an FBI agent."

Rick shifted his gaze to Hotch and glared and Hotch smirked in return. “We already know about Terminus. We found the sign, and I wrote a note for the team to meet me there”.

Reid perked up at that. “Do you think they saw it?”

“I’d be willing to bet that they did,” Hotch murmured. “If they followed the highway, they would have walked right past it”.

Daryl’s eyes narrowed. “It could easily be a trap”.

“I know,” Hotch assured him. “But it may be the only chance we have”. He then glanced at the sunset. “We should set up camp. It will be dark soon, and too dangerous to travel”.

Rick nodded and gestured up the road. “There’s an abandoned car down the road a little way. We can see if it has any supplies, and if not, a few people can sleep in it”.

Hotch nodded, and they made their way down the highway, stopping by the rusty old pickup truck. Most of the light had disappeared behind the trees, and Hotch watched as Daryl found some sticks and lit them with his flint.  
  
After a few minutes, the fire was roaring, and Reid was cuddled into Hotch’s side. Reid smiled at Daryl, who had his arm around Rick. Tara and Abraham were sitting in the back of the truck, Michonne was cleaning her katana, and Carl was asleep in the passenger seat of the truck. Hotch was just starting to let himself relax when the sound of a gun cocking at the side of his head made him freeze.

“Oh, dearie me!” A rough voice grumbled. “You messed up asshole!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I'm slightly straying from TWD's story line, but I don't want it to be exactly the same.


	9. All My Friends are Heathens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when things are looking up for our group, they face sheer brutality and are pushed to the edge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Heathens by Twenty-One Pilots.

Hotch slowly turned his head to see a man with long grey hair pointing a Glock at his head, and several more men standing at the tree line.

“We haven’t done anything to you,” he stated calmly.

“You’re wrong there,” the man spat. “That house you raided belonged to me. I claimed it!”

Reid’s eyes widened and Hotch grabbed his arm as a dirty-looking man approached them, snickering. “I claim this one”.

The man with the gun laughed and watched as Reid was dragged from Hotch’s arms. “Now, I want all of you to drop your weapons”.

Michonne walked from around the truck with her katana raised, but reluctantly dropped it when a gun was pointed at her head. Everyone one else slowly put their weapons on the ground in front of them and the man smiled. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Joe, and we’re the Claimers,” he announced, gesturing around to the other men. 

Hotch ignored him, his attention on the Claimer that had Reid pinned to the ground.

“No!” Reid sobbed, trying to get away as the man began to unbuckle his belt.

“Stop your squirming,” the man laughed menacingly.

“Leave him alone,” Hotch growled, pinning Joe with his stare.

Joe glanced at Hotch, smiling. “I don’t think so. First, I’ll kill your friends in the back of the truck, then these fags here,” he said gesturing to Rick and Daryl. “Then the girl, then the kid in the truck”. He turned to look at Hotch again, smiling. “Then I’ll kill the boy. Then you”.

Hotch growled and stood up, shoving Joe. Joe stumbled backwards, then hit Hotch on the side of the head with his gun, sending him to the ground. Hotch’s head spun from the blow, and he groaned as Joe grabbed his arms, pulling him up. “What the hell are ya gonna do now, sport?” Joe cackled.

Before Joe could react, Hotch grabbed Joe’s knife from its holster and stabbed him in the neck. Joe couched and sputtered on his own blood, before sinking to the ground. Daryl grabbed his crossbow and shot the Claimer closet to him, and Michonne quickly killed another one with her katana. The Claimer on top of Reid sat up, eyes wide, and began to back away. “No, I wasn’t really gonna do anything!” He cried, but it was too late.

Hotch pushed Rick out of the way, who had his gun pointed at the man. “He’s mine,” Hotch hissed, before plunging the knife into the man’s stomach. Reid’s eyes widened as he watched Hotch stab the man over and over again, until he was sinking to the ground, bleeding profusely and chocking on his own blood.

“Aaron, stop,” Reid murmured. “He’s dead”. He slightly backed up in surprise when Hotch quickly looked up at him, eyes wild, and blood splatters staining his face. Seeing that it was Reid, his eyes softened.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me”.

Daryl huffed. “The prick deserved it.” He then turned to Reid. “Are ya alright?”

Reid looked at Daryl with watery eyes, before laying his head on his shoulder and openly sobbing. Daryl’s eyes widened, and he stood still for a few seconds, before patting Reid on the back. “’S okay now. They’re dead”.

Reid lifted his head and turned to Hotch, burying his face in his shirt. Hotch looked down at him worriedly; he hadn’t seen him this distraught since the incident with Hankel.

CM  
  
Morgan’s head shot up as a twig snapped near their camp. “Alright, show yourself!” He called. A young Asian man poked his head out from behind a tree, hands raised in surrender. “Glenn!” Morgan exclaimed jumping to his feet.

“Do we have to be so loud this early in the morning?” Rossi muttered. 

“Sorry!” Glenn called, snickering when Rossi groaned. He stepped forward from the trees, and Maggie followed him.  
JJ yawned and sat up, smiling at Glenn. “How did you find us?”

“We found the message that Hotch left,” he said, glancing around. “Where is he anyway?”

“We don’t know. We’re hoping he made it to Terminus already”.

CM  
  
Rick held his hand up, signaling the group to be quiet. After calming everyone down, they had continued on their way to Terminus, and had finally found it. They stared in awe at the huge factory, with TERMINUS painted across the side. A small billow of smoke was rising from the courtyard.

“Do we just walk right up?” Abraham asked.

“That wouldn’t be wise,” Reid said. “It could be a trap.”

Tara shrugged and began to walk towards the gate. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Before anyone could stop her, she had walked up to the gate, and they slowly slid open. “Hello!” A friendly looking red-headed woman exclaimed. “Welcome to Terminus!” She then gestured to the grill, where she appeared to be cooking some meat. “Would you like a plate?”

Hotch stepped forward. “Who are you?”

“I’m Mary,” the woman said, and gestured for the gate to be closed. “Now!”

Suddenly, dozens of men appeared on the roof of the building, and even more swarmed from the sides, guns drawn. 

“Shit,” Rick muttered.

“Surrender all of your weapons and belongings, except the clothes on your back,” Mary demanded.

The group reluctantly set their weapons and bags on the ground, and a few men stepped forward, patting down their pockets. Carl backed away as one of the men advanced on him, attempting to guard his hat and Hotch’s badge. 

“Give ‘em to me kid,” the man spat.

“No, please! Not these!” Carl pleaded.

The man watched as Hotch’s ID, and Reid’s ID and badge were taken, and relented. “Fine kid, keep ‘em”. He then motioned for the other men to guide the group towards a rusty train car.

“Line up in single file in front of the door!” A man from the roof yelled. 

Rick glanced around, weighing his options, before relenting and walking to the train car, with the rest of the group following. The door was pulled open, and one by one, the group filed in. Reid went to the furthest corner of the car and Hotch followed, before the door was slammed shut, plunging them into darkness.

CM  
  
Rossi sighed in relief as a large building with TERMINUS written across the side came into view. “We have to be smart about this. We’ll go through the woods along the side and hop the fence. There’s no way they’ll see us that way”.

Morgan nodded, and they made their way into the woods. When they got to the fence, they took turns climbing until everyone was inside. Glancing around Prentiss saw that a back door was open. 

“This way,” she hissed.

After entering the building, they silently made their way through the darkness to a door with light streaming from underneath. Morgan nodded at Rossi, who raised his gun and pointed it at the door. Morgan grabbed the handle and threw the door open. Immediately, the sight made them want to vomit: human remains hung from hooks and laid on carving tables. Morgan slammed the door shut, eyes wide. “What the hell is this place?”

They turned and went down another hallway and were shocked to see table upon table of weapons, clothes, toys, and other trinkets. JJ weaved between the tables, observing the contents, before she suddenly gasped. The team ran to her, and Morgan followed her gaze to see Hotch and Reid’s IDs on the table. “Oh, hell no!” Morgan seethed. He grabbed the IDs, as well as Reid’s badge, and spun around as someone cleared their throat. A red-haired woman smiled at them.

“You could have just come through the front gate,” she chuckled. “We would’ve let you in”.

Morgan ignored her. “Where in the hell did you get these?” He spat, pulling out his gun and pointing it at her.

“We found them on the road,” she said, smiling warmly.

Morgan seethed. “Bullshit! I know these men, and there’s no way in hell they would drop these”. He tightened his grip on his gun when several more people emerged to stand behind the woman. 

“Round them up!” She spat.

Morgan and Rossi opened fire, hitting several of the Termites, before they turned and ran while the Termites scrambled for cover. The team made it outside, but gunfire from the roof forced them to back up to find shelter. “Line up in front of the train car!” A younger man from the roof called. 

“You’re an idiot if you think we’ll go in there!” Prentiss called back.

“You’ll do it, or all your friends die”.

She froze at that. “For your sake, I hope they’re okay”.

The man smirked. “They will be if you go in there”.

Prentiss turned to Rossi, eyebrows raised. “Should we risk it?”

“If it means that Aaron and Spencer will be okay, I think we should. What other choice do we have?” Rossi sighed. “We’re grossly outnumbered”.

Begrudgingly, the team, including Maggie and Glenn, made their way to the train car and stood in single file. A Termite approached and slid the door open, gesturing for them to go inside. Morgan scowled and went up the stairs first. The train car was small and dark, and he scowled at the smell of old sweat. “This place is disgust…” He trailed off when he caught sight of the silhouettes of bodies in the darkness.

By this time, the rest of the team had stepped inside, and the door slammed shut. With the small stream of light flooding in through the crack in the door, Morgan could see someone approaching from the darkness. His jaw dropped when he saw that it was Rick. “What the hell happened to you guys?”

Rick scowled. “They ambushed us as soon as we walked through the gate”.

Morgan’s eyes wandered past Rick, and he squinted to see several people that he didn’t recognize. Rick noticed his judgmental look. “They’re our friends. They helped us get here”.

“Are Hotch and Reid here?” JJ questioned.

“Back here”.

She perked up and slipped past, Rick, going toward the voice. Morgan followed, and he felt his anger rising when he saw Reid, practically sitting in Hotch’s lap with his face buried in his chest. “What the fuck?!” He seethed. “Let go of him!” He rushed forward and attempted to pull Reid away, but stopped at Reid’s whimper. “Pretty Boy, it’s me,” Morgan whispered. 

Reid only whimpered and snuggled further into Hotch, visibly shaking. Morgan glanced up at Hotch questioningly, and Hotch frowned, rubbing Reid’s back. “I haven’t been able to get him to move or talk to me for the three hours that we’ve been locked in here”.

Morgan’s frown faded, and he felt his heart soften. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I understand why Pretty Boy is upset, but why in the hell is he sitting in your lap?”

Hotch raised his eyebrows and Rossi chuckled. He was the only member of the team that currently knew about Hotch and Reid’s relationship. Morgan turned to stare at him, realization dawning across his face. “Oh no. Not him, Reid”.

Hotch’s face darkened at Morgan’s reaction. “I’ll have you know that this is consensual. We’ve been together for almost five months now”.

Morgan’s eyebrows rose in response, before he sighed. “I hope you know that if you hurt him, I’ll put you down”. He turned and stared at Daryl when he grunted.

“I’m with ya on that, but I trust Hotch. He’s a good man”.

Prentiss suddenly stepped to the middle of the train car, gaining everyone’s attention. “I hate to interrupt, but how are we planning on getting out of here?”

“They’re going to feel stupid when they find out,” Hotch announced.

Abraham looked at him expectantly. “Find out what?”

Hotch was silent for a moment before he muttered: “That they’re fucking with the wrong people”. As soon as he said that, the door swung open, and the man from the roof, Gareth, smiled at them. He stepped into the car, followed by three other men, and he pointed to Rick, Glenn, Hotch, and Reid. When one of the men grabbed Reid, his eyed widened and he tightened his hold on Hotch, refusing to let go. 

“Let him go, or I’ll cut you off him!” The man hissed. 

At that, Reid reluctantly let go, and they were lead out of the train car, the door closing behind them. Before they were led into the building, the men gagged them with rags and tied their hands together. 

After being led inside, they were taken to a large trough, where there were already several people kneeling, and were forced to kneel as well. Reid looked at Hotch with large eyes, and Hotch brushed against him in an attempt to comfort him. His own eyes widened when two men wearing aprons and rubber gloves appeared from around the corner, with one carrying a baseball bat, and the other carrying a knife.

They walked up to the first man on his knees, and hit him with the bat, knocking him unconscious and causing him to fall forward. The other man pulled his head back by his hair and slit his throat, allowing the blood to flow into the trough. This caused everyone else to let out muffled screams and attempt to squirm away, only to be stopped by a gun to their heads. One by one, each person was dispatched until they came to Reid, the man had just raised the bat when Gareth stopped him. 

“How many rounds did you shoot?”

The man stopped. “Shit man, I didn’t count ‘em”.

Gareth sighed. “Go back outside and count the shells”. 

Before the man could respond, the building began to shake as a loud noise came from outside.

CM

Carol peeked through the trees at Terminus, silently debating on how to get her friends out. She had seen Rick’s group go in first, and she was preparing to attack, when she saw Morgan’s group arrive. Before she could warn them, they had hopped the fence and went inside. Peering through the scope on her rifle, she saw a hydrogen tank near the fence, and dozens of walkers surrounding it. Her mouth curved into a smile as she aimed and pulled the trigger.

CM

BOOM!  
The train car jolted, and screams could be heard flowing in from outside. “What the hell is happening?” Tara yelled. She peered through the crack in the door, but all she could see were people running past. She jumped back when an older woman pulled the door open.

Daryl rushed forward and hugged Carol. She hugged him back, then pulled away. “Almost everyone is dead. I killed the woman, but the man escaped”.

Rick’s lip curled up in a growl. “We’ll find him, but right now, we need to focus on saving the others. They got taken inside”. 

The group filled out of the train car, killing walker after walker as they made their way to the door of the building. Gareth had fled, and Rossi cut Rick, Glenn, Hotch, and Reid’s restraints, and they removed the rags from their mouths. Maggie and Glenn hugged, and Daryl inspected Rick for any wounds. Reid kept his head down and allowed Hotch to guide him outside and through the front gates.

“Cannibal bastards,” Prentiss spat as they lost sight of Terminus behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, there is going to be some smut in the next chapter. I will put clear warnings of when it will start and stop is you want to scroll past it!


	10. Baby, I’m Preyin’ on You Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is approached by a stranger who invites them to come to a settlement with him. Is this the place of their dreams, or a nightmare?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Animals by Maroon 5.

Several months had passed since the Terminus incident, and the group was getting desperate. Every place that they found had already been raided, and they had resorted to hunting for food, so good meals were few and far between. Malnourishment had started to affect everyone, but Hotch was the most concerned about Reid. Almost every bone in his body was visible, and his hair was now down past his shoulders.

Hotch and Rossi we’re attempting to keep themselves groomed, as they were able to scavenge some razors, but their hair was beginning to get long. Hotch had resorted to trimming his hair with a pair of safety scissors.

They were currently walking on a deserted road, tired and parched, when Rick held out his arm in a signal to stop.

“How did those get there?”

Hotch looked up from Reid and saw what Rick was talking about: several water bottles were sitting in the road. “I wouldn’t risk drinking those”.

Daryl shrugged and walked forward, grabbing one and taking a drink. “It hasn’t rained in over a week. Why would someone just leave a dozen bottles of water in the road if they weren’t meant for us?”

Hotch grabbed one and sipped it, before offering it to Reid. Reid didn’t complain about drinking after him and guzzled it down.

Rick’s head snapped up when a man walked from the trees with his hands raised. “Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Aaron, and I’m from a place called Alexandria. It’s safe, and I’m inviting you to stay with us”.

Morgan choked out a laugh. “Whoa, Hotch, looks like you’ll have to compete for your name!”

Hotch glared at him, but before he could respond, Rick stomped forward and punched Aaron in the face, knocking him unconscious.

Emily stared at him. “Why would you do that?”

“We have no idea what his intentions are. He could be trying to lure us into a trap”. Rick snapped.

Reid knelt down and picked up the man’s backpack, sifting through it. “He’s got pictures of this place in here. It looks real”.

Rick looked between Reid and the pictures, sighing.

When Aaron came to, he jumped and scrambled away from Rick, who was kneeling in front of him. “Please, don’t hit me again!” He cried.

Rick frowned. “I won’t. Now, about this Alexandria place. How far is it from here?”

Aaron perked up. “About two miles. We can walk and make it there by sunset”.

Hotch glanced at the sky. “We should go now, if that’s the case”.

Aaron nodded, snatching his backpack from the ground and led the way, rambling on about how safe Alexandria was.

They had been walking for a little while when a large metal gate came into view. “That’s it!” Aaron announced. When they reached it, a man looked down from the guard tower and waved at Aaron, before opening the gate. 

When they stepped inside, their jaws dropped when they saw rows of well-kept houses, cars, and even a nice pond with ducks swimming in it. A younger man approached them smiling. “Welcome to Alexandria! What are all your names?”

The group introduced themselves, and he gestured for them to follow. “We put the walls up shortly after the dead started walking, so this place stayed untouched,” he glanced back at them. “Oh, how rude of me! My name’s Eric. I’m Aaron’s boyfriend”.

Rossi approached Eric and smiled warmly. “I’m sure that we would all love to go on a tour, but we have been out on the road for months, and we’re extremely tired. Could you please show us where we’ll be staying?” 

Eric looked taken aback for a second, then put his hand on Rossi’s shoulder. “Of course! Now, I’ll assume that you all don’t want to live in the same house, so we have four vacant ones. You can decide who will live where”. He guided them to the houses and handed them the keys. “Oh, and one more thing. I interview everyone that joins us, so I’ll come by later to interview you one by one”. 

Hotch watched him walk away and turned to Reid. “Which house would you like?”  
Reid glanced at each one. “The one that has the most books”.

Hotch chuckled and kissed Reid’s forehead, before they proceeded to check out each house. Reid picked a large yellow house that was a two-story, because there was a room with two bookcases full of books. It was decided that the team would live in the same house, as there were plenty of bedrooms, Michonne, Rick, Carl, and Daryl would live in another, and Glenn, Maggie, Tara, Abraham, and Carol would live in another, leaving one empty in case the arrangements didn’t work out. 

Hotch slowly walked into each bedroom, scoping them out. Reid slipped past him when he got to the last bedroom and plopped down on the king-sized bed. “This one is ours,” he sighed, and Hotch sat down on the bed next to him.

“Are you sure you want to share a bed with me?” Hotch asked.

Reid rolled on his side, propping up on his elbow and looking at Hotch. “Of course, I do. I love you”. He blushed when Hotch’s eyes widened. This was the first time that Reid had said it out loud.

“I love you, too, Spencer,” Hotch whispered, leaning down to place a chaste kiss on his lips.

Reid grinned and sat up. “I know we just got settled, but I know we passed a bathroom with a shower”.

Hotch laughed, standing from the bed. “Alright, have it your way”.

“I am so ready to bathe,” Reid cried in a mock sob. He watched as Hotch shook his head and headed toward the bathroom with Reid on his heels.

The bathroom was immaculate, with a shower that had glass sliding doors and clean, fluffy towels hanging from two hooks. Reid began to undress, past the point of modesty with Hotch, and turned on the water, waiting for it to heat up. 

Hotch stared at Reid as he bent down to look under the sink for soap, shampoo, and conditioner, feeling a blush dust his cheeks.

Spencer glanced up and smiled knowingly. “Enjoying the view?”

Hotch crossed his arms in a pout, and Spencer chuckled, standing up with the shower supplies. By this time, Hotch had already undressed, and folded his clothes neatly. The shower had heated up, and he adjusted it to the perfect temperature, before stepping in.

*Smut starts here*

Spencer stepped in after him, sighing as the warm water hit his flesh. He allowed his head to tip back and dip into the spray and moved aside so Hotch could as well. Warm hands began to weave through his hair, and Spencer smiled when he realized Hotch was washing it for him. He closed his eyes and let the gentle sensation lull him into a daze. Soft lips on his shoulder brought him back to reality, and he turned in Hotch’s arms, squeezing some shampoo into his hand and washing Hotch’s hair in return. After they rinsed the suds out of their hair, Spencer snaked his arms around Hotch’s neck, and their lips met in a soft kiss that quickly turned heated.

Hotch pulled back and looked into Spencer’s eyes. “Can I?” He whispered, almost inaudibly. 

Spencer nodded and whispered “yes” when he realized Hotch wanted a verbal answer. He moaned when Hotch’s head dipped lower, and gently sucked on his neck, before his hand slid down his chest to play with his nipple. Spencer jerked at the feeling but encouraged Hotch to continue. Hotch’s other hand dipped lower and wrapped around Spencer’s member, tugging gently. Spencer’s mouth fell open with a gasp, and he buried his head in Aaron’s shoulder, kissing at the skin there.

Sure, he and Hotch had had shirtless make-out sessions at the prison, but never anything this intimate. Hotch kissed him again before pulling away, and Spencer whimpered.

“Dry off. We’re going to the bed,” Hotch whispered.

Spencer nodded and grabbed one of the towels, drying off and following Hotch into the bedroom. Hotch sat down on the bed and Reid laid next to him, unsure of what to do. Hotch turned and gave him a heated look before climbing up the bed to hover over Spencer. He leaned down and kissed him, gently nipping at his lips. Reid moaned at the feeling and Hotch slipped his tongue inside. 

Suddenly Hotch pulled away and retrieved something from under the covers. Spencer’s eyes widened when he saw that it was a bottle of lube.

“I found this in the bathroom earlier, and thought we might need it,” Hotch murmured. He then popped the cap and spread some of the liquid on his fingers. Reid spread his legs and shivered when Hotch rubbed his fingers over his hole.

“This will hurt at first, but bear with it, and it will feel better”.

Reid nodded and grunted slightly as Hotch slid his pointer finger in to the first knuckle.

Hotch paused and looked up at him. “Is this okay?”

“I’m fine. It just feels strange,” Reid sighed.

Hotch nodded and pushed his finger in further, before pulling it back out, and pushing in again. At Spencer’s moan, he added a second finger, pressing slightly upwards. Spencer jolted and cried out, his eyes flying open. 

“Do that again!” he cried, pushing down on Hotch’s fingers.

Hotch obliged, pushing in harder this time, and smiling at Reid’s broken moans. He added a third finger, and spread them out, staring as they were swallowed by Spencer’s hole.

“Now, Aaron, please,” Spencer pleaded, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. 

Hotch took pity on Spencer and moved to straddle him, pulling his legs further apart before slowly pushing in. 

Spencer scrunched up his face in pain as the head of Hotch’s member pushed into him. Hotch gently rubbed his thigh, whispering soothing words into his ear. After a minute or two, he pushed in a little more, restraining himself from pounding Spencer into the bed; the tight heat was driving him wild with need. 

When he was fully seated inside Spencer, Hotch glanced at his face, seeing that his eyes were closed tightly. “Tell me when,” he grunted, tightly holding onto his self-control.

Spencer was silent for a few minutes before moving to wrap his legs around Hotch’s waist. “Move,” he whispered.

Hotch slowly pulled out, before pushing back in, setting a slow and steady pace. He knew that Spencer was a virgin, and he needed to be gentle with him. His mouth twitched up into a smile when Spencer moaned, bringing his hands up to claw at Hotch’s back. Spencer’s member strained between them, leaking a steady stream of pre-come, and Hotch grabbed it, stroking at the same pace of his thrusts. He was beginning to shake with the need to plow into Spencer but contained himself.

They continued at the slow pace for another minute or two, until Spencer suddenly tugged at Hotch’s hair. “Aaron, harder”.

Hotch obliged, pulling almost all the way out, before slamming back in and setting a brutal pace. Spencer began moaning and letting out little nonsense words like “Aaron” and “so good” and “don’t stop”. Hotch grunted and dug his knees into the bed, thrusting even harder into the velvety softness encasing his member. His mind began to leave him as he felt a familiar tingling in his stomach, and he pumped Spencer’s member faster, not wanting to come before him. 

Spencer’s body began to twitch and his back arched, before pearly come spurted across his chest, leaving fluorescent ribbons on his flesh. Hotch moaned as Spencer’s inner walls clamped down around him, and with one final thrust, he buried himself inside and filled Spencer to the brim with his seed. 

Spencer shuddered and sighed, lowering his legs back to the bed and combing his fingers through Hotch’s hair. Hotch kissed his cheek before pulling out, watching with fascination as his come leaked out of Spencer’s stretched hole. Spencer blushed but smiled up at him. With a contented sigh, Hotch laid down beside him and wrapped his arm around Spencer’s waist, letting blissful sleep overtake him.  
*smut ends here*

Hotch blinked his eyes open as light streamed across his face through the blinds. He stretched and smiled down at Spencer, who was already awake. “How long have you been up?”

“Not long,” Spencer yawned. “Do you want to go get some breakfast? I saw some oatmeal in the pantry last night”.

Hotch nodded and they got dressed, before padding down the stairs. Rossi and Morgan were already at the table, eating oatmeal and sipping cups of coffee. Spencer’s eyes lit up, and he practically ran to the coffee pot, pouring himself a mug, before dumping several spoonsfuls of sugar in it. Hotch smiled lovingly and turned to make himself some oatmeal. 

Reid sat down at the table and Morgan smirked. “How’d you sleep last night, Pretty Boy?” 

“Wonderfully,” Reid sighed. “The bed felt like a cloud compared to sleeping on the ground the past couple of months”.

“Glad to hear that,” Morgan chuckled, before pausing for a second. “Was he gentle?”

Reid spluttered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Don’t play dumb, Pretty Boy, I heard you two last night. I was afraid the picture frames were going to fall off the walls!”

Reid blushed and ducked his head. Hotch walked over and sat next to him, stirring his oatmeal. “Alright, you’ve had your laugh. Leave it be”.

Morgan raised his hands in surrender, and glanced at JJ and Prentiss, who had just walked into the kitchen. “At least some of us are getting lucky,” he said, looking pointedly at JJ.

“Oh, no. Leave me out of this,” she sighed, turning to look in the pantry.

Morgan looked at Rossi, who shrugged. “Sorry, I don’t swing that way”.

Hotch choked on his oatmeal, which sent Morgan into a fit of laughter. “You guys heard them last night, right?” 

Prentiss scoffed. “Of course. I thought the whole house was going to come down”.

Reid groaned and buried his flaming face in Hotch’s shirt. 

“Leave him be,” Rossi said, standing up to refill his coffee and winking at Hotch.

After eating, Hotch and Reid placed their bowls in the sink, before heading outside to explore the town. Eric was walking with Aaron, and turned, waving at them enthusiastically, before running over.

“Is everything in your house alright?” Eric asked.

“Yes, fine, thank you,” Hotch said, trying to give Eric the hint that they wanted to be left alone.

Eric looked them both up and down before asking: “are you two dating?”

Hotch looked taken aback but answered honestly. “Yes, we are,” before snaking his arm around Reid’s waist protectively. 

“Oh, honey, you don’t have to worry. I won’t steal him from you!” Eric chuckled. 

Hotch frowned pulling Reid closer and attempting to walk away, but Reid stopped him. “How did you know that we’re…” He trailed off.

“Oh, sweetie. I know,” Eric chuckled, before turning and continuing his walk with Aaron.

Hotch stared after them, puzzled. “That man is strange”.

“Hm. Maybe just eccentric,” Spencer muttered. He turned as Rick approached them, wearing what appeared to be a police uniform.

Hotch looked at him, expression stuck somewhere between a blank stare and a frown.

“Eric appointed me as constable,” Rick smirked.

“That’s unfortunate,” Reid mumbled, and Hotch held back a chuckle.

Rick looked at him. “What did you say?”

“Me? Nothing!” Reid said innocently, looking surprised. 

Rick eyed him, then shrugged and continued down the road.

Hotch gestured for Reid to follow him as he walked toward the gate. Daryl was gassing up the motorcycle that Aaron had given him and nodded at them. “I’m gonna go out with Abe today and scavenge for supplies. These people don’t have much when it comes to food here”. He then walked to Rick, who had come to say goodbye, giving him a short kiss before hopping on the bike. Abraham was already in the car they had borrowed, and they left through the open gate.

“Be careful!” Rick called after them, before turning and staring at Hotch, then walking away.

Hotch looked at Reid, confused at Rick’s behavior.

 

Daryl revved the motorcycle’s engine and went faster, flying down the deserted road. They had been driving for half an hour when he spotted a strip mall and motioned for Abraham to slow down behind him. They pulled into the parking lot and shut off their engines. 

The stores looked like they had been raided, but Daryl opened the door to a drug store anyway, coughing at the smell of rotting flesh. Several dead bodies lay on the ground, and he stepped over them as he made his way to the counter. “Look and see if you can find any pain killers or blood thinners,” he told Abraham as he looked at the shelves.

After filling their sacks with medication, Daryl climbed back on his bike, and Abraham got in the car, then they pulled back on the road and began to make their way back to Alexandria. Not even a mile down the road, Daryl slowed as he saw almost a dozen men on motorcycles blocking the road, with a large truck sitting behind them. They got a little closer before turning of their engines.

The man in the front of the group smiled. “Surrender your weapons and all belongings! They now belong to Negan”.

“No way in hell!” Abraham shouted. 

The man frowned and two men from behind them approached, as the rest of the men pointed guns at them. They grabbed Daryl and pulled him toward the truck. He struggled, but stopped when one put a knife to his neck.  
Abraham watched as they took Daryl behind the truck and out of sight. 

“I’m gonna kill you now, asshole!” The lead man laughed, pointing two guns at him. 

Abraham took a step backward.

“I’m just kidding; I’m not gonna kill you,” he paused for a second. “Oh, wait. Yeah I am”. 

Before he could say anything else, the men were blown up in an explosion of flames. Abraham fell backwards, and Daryl walked around the truck, bazooka in hand. “Assholes”. He grumbled. 

Abraham stared at him, before bursting out laughing and helping Daryl load his motorcycle into the truck. Daryl climbed into the truck and Abraham got in the car, before they drove back toward Alexandria. 

When they got back, they found Alexandria in disarray. Daryl jumped from the truck and ran to the gate, meeting Rick. “The hell happened?” He asked.

We got attacked by a group that called themselves the Saviors; said they worked for Negan. We killed most of them, but a few got away”.

Daryl groaned. “We ran into some of ‘em on the road. Sounds like their group is pretty big”.

Rick narrowed his eyes, before sprinting to find Eric. “I’m calling a meeting! We need to take care of these people before they attack again!

CM

Reid looked up from his card game with Morgan as Rossi walked in. 

“Rick is calling a town meeting. We need to go”.

“Good, this guy always cheats anyway,” Morgan sighed.

Reid looked offended. “I do not!”

Rossi shook his head and lead the way to the church, where Hotch met them. “I wonder what this clown is planning now,” he sighed. Before anyone could respond, Rick made his way to the front of the church.

“As many if you already know, Alexandria got attacked earlier today by a group that calls themselves the Saviors, claiming to work for a man called Negan. I propose that we take them out, before they take us out first!”

Chatter erupted around the room as the Alexandrians talked amongst themselves. “Are you insane?!” Hotch roared. “We should just leave it be. If they attack again, we’ll deal with it, but right now, we need to think this through”.

Rick crossed his arms. “I’m the leader of this group, and I say we attack”.

“Who decided you were the leader?” Morgan asked. 

“I was the leader of this group long before your team even joined us,” Rick spat, gesturing wildly around the room, trying to get the people on his side. By this point, the room had fallen silent.

“Alright. Who thinks we should listen to Rick?” Morgan asked. Five people raised their hands, including Abraham and Daryl. “Who thinks we should listen to Hotch?” Almost the whole room raised their hands. 

Ricks narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Do whatever you want, but I’m taking care of them”.

“You will not! You will go back to your house with your son, and you will not raise a finger toward the Saviors!” Hotch yelled, giving Rick his trademark glare, fury in his eyes.

Rick visibly shrunk backwards, then slunk off the stage and out of the church, fists balled at his sides.

Reid stared at Hotch with wide eyes. He hadn’t seen him that angry for a while. Hotch seemed to sense Reid staring at him and turned. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me”.

“It’s fine, Aaron. We can only hope that Rick got the message.

CM

The sun had just set over the horizon when Rick grabbed his Colt Python and he, Daryl, Abraham, Glenn, and Tara piled into a car, preparing to take on the Saviors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there are two characters named Aaron: Aaron Hotchner and Aaron from TWD. When referring to Hotch, I will mostly call him that, unless Spencer or Dave are talking to him. And I’m leaving Deanna, Spencer, and Reg (the original leaders of Alexandria) out, because I thought they were useless and boring. I’m also leaving the Wolves out, because I think that was a weird plot line.


	11. I Know It’s Already Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is forced to try to get to another settlement to save one of their own, and they meet their biggest threat yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated Jack and Haley's deaths if you want to go back and read those.
> 
> Title from Already Over by Red.

Rick pulled the car into the field next to the Savior’s compound. Luckily, he’d gotten one of them to tell him where it was before killing him. They all hopped out, and he and Daryl walked in the front of the group, while Abraham, Glenn and Tara brought up the flank. The fence was an easy climb, and Daryl shot the two guards with his crossbow.

When they entered the building, all of the Saviors were asleep, and one by one, Rick’s group dispatched all of them by stabbing them in the head. When they were sure that all of them were dead, the group piled back into the car and drove back to Alexandria, with the cover of darkness as their ally.

CM

Hotch woke up to someone pounding on he and Spencer’s door. Spencer groaned and rolled over, so Hotch got out of bed, yawning and padding over the door, before opening it. He was shocked to see Tara, staring at him with wide eyes and tear-stained cheeks. “Tara, what is it?” He asked worriedly.

“Where’s Spencer?” She cried, peeking around him into the room.

“He’s asleep. Why do you ask?”

Tara stifled a sob. “It’s Maggie! Something’s wrong! There’s blood everywhere!”

Hotch put his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll do everything we can to help her, but I’m not sure what Spencer can do. He’s not a doctor”.

“But he introduced himself as Dr. Spencer Reid!” She exclaimed.

“I have a doctorate in chemistry, engineering, and mathematics,” Reid yawned, sitting up in bed. 

“So, can you look at her?” Tara asked.

Spencer bit his lip. I’m not good with blood, but I’ll see what I can do”. Before he could even get out of bed, Tara rushed in and grabbed his arm, pulling him downstairs and outside, then into the house next door, with Hotch on their heels. 

They came to a stop in front of the bathroom door, and Reid could hear sobbing. Tara knocked on the door, calling: “Maggie? It’s me. I brought Spencer to try to help”. She then opened the door and ushered Spencer inside. Hotch stayed outside, respecting Maggie’s privacy. Spencer slowly stepped in and shuddered at the sight: blood covered the bathroom floor, and Maggie lay in the middle of it, by the toilet. Spencer knelt down beside her and looked at her face. “Maggie, what happened?”

She slowly looked up at him, tears streaming down her face from puffy eyes. “I started having stomach pains, so I went to the bathroom and I started bleeding,” she trailed off, sobbing. 

Reid glanced back at Tara before taking Maggie’s hand. “I’m going to need you to take your pants the rest of the way off and spread your legs”.

Maggie looked up at him, shocked.

“Please, Maggie. I’m trying to help you”.

She nodded and did as she was told. Reid gathered that the blood was coming from her vagina, and he glanced around the floor, before looking into the toilet. His face paled and he slowly stood up, before walking out of the room. Tara followed questioningly.

Hotch looked up from where he was leaning against the wall and frowned at Reid’s worried expression. “What is it?” He asked.

Reid leaned in closer to him and lowered his voice. “She’s had a miscarriage. I don’t think she was very far along; maybe two or three months”.

Hotch’s eyes widened, and he looked at Tara, who covered her mouth, fresh tears streaming down her face.

“I have to tell her,” Reid said as he turned to walk back into the bathroom. Maggie looked up at him expectantly. “Maggie, did you know you were pregnant?” He whispered.

Maggie shook her head, sobbing. “My cycle has been messed up for a while due to stress, so I didn’t think anything of it when I didn’t have one for a while”. She then turned to the toilet, looking inside. “Is it in there?” She whispered, almost inaudibly. 

Reid lowered his eyes. “Yes, it is. I’ll give you some privacy”. He then turned and left, quietly shutting the door. 

When he turned around, he saw that Eric was talking to Tara and Hotch. They turned to him, and Eric gave him a sad smile. "There’s another settlement: The Hilltop. They have a medical doctor, so I think it would be best to take Maggie there”. 

CM 

Prentiss huffed as Rossi sifted through another box of clothes. They had seen a men’s clothing store a few miles from Alexandria, and Rossi somehow convinced her to go with him to check it out. She looked up as he walked up to her, holding up several shirts and a pair of pants, looking smug.

“I told you they would still have clothes,” he laughed.

She rolled her eyes and made sure the coast was clear, while Rossi got in the car. Suddenly, loud dubstep music began to play, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Several screeching chords played, before a robotic voice said: “and now you’re going to die”.

“Sorry!” Rossi called as he shut it off. “I didn’t realize there was a CD in here”.

Prentiss waved her hand at him, as if to shoo him away, before climbing into the car. It started with ease, and they began to make their way back to Alexandria.

CM

A sudden banging on the door caused Reid to look up from Maggie. Hotch ran down to open it, only to see Rick looking livid.

“The Saviors attacked again,” Rick panted. “Rossi and Emily almost got intercepted before they got back from their run. We killed all of them, but I think it’s time we fight back”. He purposefully neglected to tell Hotch that they attacked them last night.

Hotch ignored him. “We need to help Maggie. She’s sick”.

Rick’s eyes widened.

“Eric told us about another settlement that has a doctor. We need to get her there, NOW”. 

Rick nodded and turned, yelling for Daryl to get the truck ready.

When Hotch returned upstairs, Tara and Reid had helped Maggie out of the bathroom, and she had a fresh change of clothes on. “Don’t tell Glenn!” She sobbed to no one in particular. “He can’t know about this; not yet”.

They helped her down the stairs and laid her on a stretcher that was in the infirmary, before lifting her and carrying her to the truck. 

 

CM

The ride to the Hilltop was mostly silent, besides occasional murmurs. Reid was keeping an eye on Hotch, as he was worried about him, given that he had lost Jack just a couple months before. Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Rossi had insisted on coming to offer their support, even though he told them they didn’t have to. He glanced up when the truck suddenly came to a halt.

“The road is blocked!” Abraham called. 

Reid made his way to the front of the truck, only to see that the road was indeed blocked. A large pile of trees was stretching across the whole road. “That looks intentional,” he advised Rick. “Someone knew we were coming”.

“That’s the only road to the Hilltop,” Aaron said. “It’s not far from here; we could cut through the woods and have the trees as cover”.

At Maggie’s cry of pain, the group piled out of the truck, and Hotch and Rick lifted the stretcher, before quickly making their way into the woods, with the group behind them. 

The woods were dark, and they all stumbled several times. Hotch was getting ready to advise Rick to slow down, when a sight in the distance made him hold his tongue. His eyes widened, and he skidded to a stop, while still trying to hold Maggie’s stretcher up. Rick was ahead of him and looked terrified. Car after car turned their headlights on, and eerie whistling echoed around them.

“Well, well, well,” a man with dark hair chuckled as he emerged through the cars. “What do we have here? Negan’s gonna be so glad that we finally caught you”.

Hotch and Rick slowly set Maggie’s stretcher down and glanced at the rest of their group, who were silent. Reid stepped closer to Hotch and grabbed his hand, twining their fingers together. 

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the dark-haired man said. “I’m Simon, and we are the Saviors. Now, I’m gonna need you all to kneel down and wait for Negan to come out. He’ll decide what to do with you”.

Hotch glanced at Spencer, and let go of his hand, going to kneel where Simon was pointing to. The rest of the group silently obeyed, and Spencer was shocked to see the fear in Hotch’s eyes. They had only been kneeling for a few seconds when Simon knocked on the door of the RV sitting in the middle of the cars and it swung open to reveal a man in a leather jacket, carrying a baseball bat covered in barbed wire.

“Hi, I’m Negan,” the man spoke, his voice deep and even. “Who here is the leader?” 

“This one right here,” Simon said, gesturing to Rick. 

Rick’s eyes widened as Negan walked towards him.

“So, you’re the guy who killed my people, and when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool,” Negan chuckled.

Rick’s eyes wandered to the baseball bat, and Negan smirked. “This? This is Lucille, and she is awesome”.

Hotch flinched when Negan swung Lucille, and she came dangerously close to his face.

“Now, I know first impressions are important, so I need to show you that I don’t fuck around. So, I’m gonna beat the holy hell out of one of you”. He glanced around the group kneeling on the ground and walked by each of them pointing Lucille in their faces. “Who do I kill? I simply can’t decide”. He glanced at Simon, who smirked. “I know!” He then walked up to Spencer and pointed Lucille at his head. 

Hotch’s eyes widened, and he suppressed the urge to tackle Negan to the ground.

“Eenie,” Negan said, then moved to Hotch. “Meenie”. Rossi. “Miney”. Prentiss. “Moe”. Rick. “Catch” Carl. “A tiger”. JJ. “By”. Morgan. “It’s toe”. Daryl. “If”. Glenn. “He hollers”. Tara. “Let him go,” Negan raised his eyebrows at her. Abraham. “My mother”. Michonne. “Told me”.

He then began to move quickly over all of them. “To pick… the best one… and you… are… it.” He landed on Prentiss, who straightened up and glared up into eyes. “Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut one of the boy’s eyes out and feed it to his father. Then we’ll start”. He then drew Lucille back and huffed, “you can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Hell, you’re all gonna be doin’ that”.

With a strong swing, Negan brought Lucille down on Emily's head. She jolted, and a stream of blood began to flow from her scalp.

The team’s eyes widened, and tears began to stream down JJ’s face.

“Woah, takin’ it like a champ!” Negan cackled. 

“Kiss… my… ass," Emily hissed.

Negan growled and brought Lucille down on her head again. She fell to the ground, and he continued to smash her head open. After a few good swings, Negan stood up again, laughing. “Did you hear that?! She said: “kiss my ass!”" Bringing Lucille up to his face, he laughed. “Look at my dirty girl!” He then glanced around the group, taking in Hotch’s angry, tear-stained face. “Oh, shit! Were you together?” He gestured between Hotch and what was left of Prentiss with Lucille. 

Hotch didn’t respond and continued to glare at him. Negan stepped forward and shoved Lucille in Hotch’s face. “Look at it,” he hissed. 

Hotch averted his eyes and Negan scowled. “I said: look at it!” 

“No!” Daryl yelled and jumped up, punching Negan across the face. Morgan also jumped up, tackling Negan to the ground. Negan stumbled and flailed around, and Lucille fell to the ground. Morgan grabbed her and tried to run, but Simon blocked him. 

“Don’t you touch her!” Negan seethed and forcefully pried Lucille from Morgan’s hands, who was being restrained by Simon and Dwight. He looked Morgan up and down, then chuckled. “Who the hell are you anyway? The Chocolate Adonis?”

When he was sure Negan wasn’t looking, Hotch turned to Reid, who was now openly sobbing and grabbed his hand, whispering, “It’ll be ok”.

Unluckily for them, Negan turned around just in time to see their exchange. “Oh, so you swing the other way!” He laughed and stalked toward them. Reid’s eyes widened, and he flinched as a bloodied Lucille was shoved in his face. “I’ll deal with you later,” Negan smirked. He then turned back to the group. “That was NOT okay. I told you, if anyone moved, you were gonna pay. And I’m gonna keep my word, because I need you to know me”. 

Everyone was silent for a few seconds while Negan stood before them. He then held Lucille out in front of him and exclaimed: “So! Back to it!” At that, he turned and slammed Lucille on Glenn’s head. 

“No!” Maggie screeched.

Glenn slowly looked at her with blood streaming down his face and one of his eyes half popped out. He gargled and looked at Maggie, trying to form words. Negan leaned down and smiled. “Buddy, are you still there? I don’t know, but it seems like you’re trying to speak! But I just hit your skull so hard that your eyeball popped right out, and it is gross as shit!”

Glenn looked at Maggie again, before gargling, “Maggie, I’ll find you”.

Negan laughed and hit him again and again, until his skull was an unidentifiable bloody mass on the ground. “Lucille is thirsty. She is a vampire bat!” He cackled as he walked toward the RV, with some of Glenn’s scalp still hanging from Lucille. He then gestured to Reid and Daryl. “Put them in the truck. We’re taking them back”.

Hotch grabbed Reid and pulled him closer. “You can’t take him”.

Negan’s eyebrows rose, and he walked toward Hotch. “Oh, I can’t? Well, watch this”. One of Negan’s men rushed forward and pulled Reid from Hotch’s grasp. “Be careful with him. He’s a pretty one, and I don’t want the merchandise to get damaged”.

Reid began to weakly struggle, and dug his heels into the ground, but it was no use.

JJ shot up, trying to run to Reid, but Hotch grabbed her arm and held her back. They watched with misty eyes as Reid was pushed into the back of the truck with Daryl, and the doors were slammed closed. 

Reid curled in on himself when the doors to the truck opened, and he was pulled out. A young woman grabbed his arm and pulled him alongside a fence, and he stared in awe at the sheer number of walkers inside. They passed through a large warehouse, and he eyed a large tin of coffee grounds. 

“Do you want that?” The woman, who was introduced as Amber asked. 

Spencer nodded eagerly, and she handed it to him. “We’ll take it out of your points. You earn what you keep here”. She then led him outside, and Reid stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Negan.

“Well, hello there. I don’t think I learned your name, Darlin’,” Negan chuckled, leering at Reid.

“I’m Dr. Spencer Reid,” Spencer muttered, not taking his eyes off of Lucille.

“Oh, really? So, are you Dr. Smarty Pants, or just some asshole?”

Reid was silent.

“Oh, you are just some asshole.”

“No, I am Dr. Smarty Pants,” Reid seethed.

“Prove it,” Negan growled. 

Reid began to belt out something about the forces of gravity, but Negan cut him off. “Okay, I believe you”. He then gestured to Amber. “Take him inside”. He then looked Reid up and down and grinned. “You know what? As compensation for all the shit you had to see, I’m gonna give you a present: I’m gonna send a few of my wives to your room tonight. But if you know what’s good for you, no sex”.

Reid’s eyes widened, and a blush spread across his cheeks. “Um… I’m not…”

“Oh, shit! That’s right! You like cock! Well, I’ll drop by your room later to hang out,” Negan laughed as he sent Reid a toothy grin. 

“That’s not necessary. I was already gifted this coffee,” Reid muttered, cradling it to his chest.

“Nonsense!” Negan bellowed. "Okay now you can take him inside”.

Reid was expecting to be thrown in a cell, but to his surprise, Amber took him to a small bedroom.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Amber said. She then glanced down at his skinny frame. “What do you want to eat?”

Reid’s eyes widened, and he turned to look at her. “What can I have?”

“What do you want?” She asked.

“Can I have chocolate donuts with sprinkles?” He asked, his eyes becoming wide.

Amber narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if he was serious or not. “Sure. I’m not sure if we have sprinkles but I’ll see what I can do.”

When Amber left, Reid’s eyes widened when he saw a bookshelf full of books. 

Reid had just read his third book and polished off his doughnuts when there was a knock on his door. He hesitated, not knowing who it would be, but opened it anyway. His mouth dropped open in shock when he saw Negan standing before him in a white t-shirt, jeans, and socks, with Lucille propped on his shoulder. Negan stepped forward to come into the room, and Reid let him, fearing what would happen if he didn’t. 

“So, what do you wanna do?” Negan asked. “I know there’s wine in the fridge, and I’m pretty sure there’s a Pac Man game around here somewhere”. He took in Reid’s flushed appearance and grinned, leaning in closer. “Or, we can do something more interesting”.

Reid gulped and sputtered, and Negan chuckled, sitting down on the couch. He winked up at Reid and patted the couch beside him. “Have a seat, Dr. Smarty Pants”.

Reid sat down and glared at Negan. “You can call me Dr. Spencer Reid”.

“Okay, Darlin’, whatever you want,” Negan sighed, and slung his arm around Reid’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “So, that guy you were with, what was his name?”

Reid was confused for a second, but quickly realized who Negan was talking about when he raised his eyebrow. “Aaron”.

“Ah, Aaron,” Negan pondered. “And were you two…” He trailed off and made the universal symbol for sex by putting his pointer finger through the loop of fingers on his other hand.

Reid blushed and looked at Negan pointedly. “Yes, we’re together if that’s what you’re asking”.  
Negan laughed and rubbed Reid’s shoulder. “Well, let me pull out that wine”.

“Um, I don’t really…” Reid muttered. 

“Oh, come on!” Negan huffed. “Live a little!” He then poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Reid, who eyed it and then took a small sip. “There we go. Now come back over here and talk to me”.

Reid silently walked back over to the couch and plopped down, ever-so-slightly blushing when Negan laid his hand on Reid’s thigh. 

“So, what did you do before this shit storm went down?” Negan asked.

Reid eyed him, questioning if he should tell him the truth, but decided that it wouldn’t hurt. “I was with the Behavioral Analysis Unit in the FBI”.

“No shit?” Negan exclaimed, eyes wide. “That is cool as hell”. He then slid his hand higher up Reid’s thigh. “I was a gym teacher”.

At Reid’s shocked look, he cackled. “Well, someone’s gotta keep the little shits in line!”

As the time passed and Negan continued to badger Reid with questions, Reid continued to drink his wine, and Negan continued to pour it. After his third glass, he was feeling very tipsy. Negan had also had several glasses, and he had a drunken smile to prove it.

"So, how do you feel about me?” Negan asked.

Reid tried to glare at him, but in his altered state, he only looked slightly perplexed. “I hate you right now for killing two of my friends, and I think that you had something traumatic happen to you, given the way you use your dirty humor and charisma to make your followers like you. I don’t even think they like you, they just follow your orders,” Reid slurred.

“Woah, getting a little hurtful there, Spencer,” Negan pouted with a look of feigned sadness. He leaned over to Reid and pulled him closer, so that Reid was almost sitting in his lap. “Tell me, what do you like to do for fun?”

Reid continued to sip his wine, oblivious to the fact that Negan was coming on to him. “I really enjoy reading. I’m disappointed at your lack of books here”.

Negan chuckled and buried his nose in Reid’s hair, breathing in the smell of lavender. “I’ll be sure to find some more for you, Darlin’”.

At this point Reid was beginning to slump back against Negan, as whatever alcohol tolerance he had before the apocalypse had all but vanished. Negan grunted and kissed the side of Reid’s neck, slowly rubbing up and down on his arm. Reid sighed and welcomed the touch, as it reminded him of the way Aaron touched him.

“Mmm… You’re so pretty,” Negan sighed, lightly scraping his teeth against the thick vein in Reid’s neck. Reid shuddered and moaned, slightly shifting in Negan’s lap. His eyes slightly opened when Negan lifted him up and carried him over to the bed, before gently setting him down. He still hadn’t caught up with what Negan was about to do and let his head loll to the side as Negan began to lift up his shirt. A shudder ran down Reid’s body as Negan smoothed his hand up his flat stomach and glanced up to see him lick his lips and start to unbuckle his belt. 

Only then did Reid’s eyes widen and he began to struggle. “What are you doing?! Get off of me!” He cried.

Negan jumped back as if he had been burned, eyes wide. “Shit, I’m sorry, Spencer. You were so responsive, and you weren’t saying no”.

“Well, I didn’t say yes, either,” Spencer spat, moving to sit up and pull his shirt down. 

At Spencer’s scared look, Negan held his hands up in surrender. “I wasn’t going to rape you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t know if you heard, but I don’t do that shit”.

Reid looked up at him warily, and Negan smiled. “I know! Do you play the piano?”

“Um… Yeah,” Reid muttered, questioningly.

Negan’s smile widened into a toothy grin. “Follow me”.

Reid reluctantly followed as Negan led him to another room down the hall. When they got inside, he spotted a large grand piano, as well as a bed, a sofa, a table and chairs, and a refrigerator. Negan plopped down on the couch and gestured to the piano. “Well, go on. If there’s one thing Lucille loves more than bashing in brains, it’s being sung to or having music played for her”.

Glancing at Lucille, Reid turned and sat on the piano bench, before lightly stroking the keys. “What should I play?”

“Whatever you want, Darlin’,” Negan chuckled. 

Reid’s fingers hovered over the keys before he began to play, letting the familiar sound and movements comfort him. Negan smiled as he watched Reid fall into the movements and felt his heart swell. He knew at that moment that one day, Spencer would be his.

CM

JJ sobbed at she moved to kneel over Emily’s body. “We need to move her. She needs to be buried”.

Morgan stood to join her and glared as he watched the last of the Saviors drive away. He then grabbed Emily’s feet, while JJ grabbed her shoulders. “We’ll lift on three. One, two, three”. 

Abraham and Rick lifted Glenn, and they slowly and solemnly carried both of them through the woods and to the truck, before setting them inside.

The ride to the Hilltop was silent, and Hotch gazed out the window at the passing trees. He had lost the love of his life and one of his best friends in one day. 

When they arrived at the Hilltop, a man named Jesus greeted them, observing Glenn and Emily with wide eyes. “You’re welcome to bury them here if you like. They’ll be safer here, because the Saviors never come through the gates".

For the next hour, Morgan and Hotch dug Prentiss’s grave, while Rick and Abraham dug Glenn’s. The mood was solemn and they covered them with dirt as respectfully as possible. “We should say something for them,” Rossi said quietly.

Hotch stepped forward. “Both Emily and Glenn were beloved friends and family, and they will not be forgotten”. He then turned away, trying to hide his tear-stained face. 

CM

Daryl huddled into the corner of the dark cell, trying to drown out the loud music that was playing from next door. He hadn’t slept in two days, and he was worried sick about Spencer. Who knows what that monster was doing to him? 

CM

“Good morning, Sunshine!”

Reid jolted awake, blindly reaching for his gun, which he remembered had been taken from him. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, only to see Negan standing over him with a plate of eggs, with garnish eyes and a bacon smile. Reid quirked his brow.

“What is this for?” He asked, skeptically. 

Negan chuckled. “Well, we don’t want you going hungry, now do we?”

Reid eyed the eggs, before taking them and starting to eat. Negan sat down on the bed next to him. Reid hadn’t mentioned what happened the night before, so Negan hoped he had forgotten, thanks to the wine.

“So, listen, kid,” Negan began. “I’ll need you to come outside with me”.

Reid looked up at him, polishing off the rest of the eggs, and Negan took his plate. “What for?” He asked.

“You’ll just have to come see,” Negan winked, and stood up, gesturing for Reid to follow. As they made their way through the hallways, they passed a room filled with women in short, black dresses. At Reid’s shocked look, Negan slung his arm over his shoulders. “Those are my wives. Sexy right?” He then stuck his tongue out slightly. “Just let me know if you ever wanna take a peek”.

An owlish look was his answer, and he erupted into laughter. They finally made it to the doors, and Negan pushed them open, swinging Lucille over his shoulder. Reid flinched and tried to put more distance between he and Negan. Negan didn’t seem to notice, and continued out to the front of the Sanctuary, observing the dozens of walkers enclosed in the fence. “See those?” He asked Reid, who nodded. "Well, I need you to figure out a way to make them last longer. Every day, they’re getting more decayed, and they fall apart. Just like that sac of shit.” He gestured to a walker chained to the fence, which ripped in half, its lower part falling into a heap on the ground. “Well, pile of shit.”

Reid didn’t want to help Negan, but he knew he would have to if he wanted to make it out. He needed to get Negan to trust him, so he could have more freedom and escape with Daryl. “Do you have a smelter?” He asked.

“We do indeed. What are you thinking, Dr. Smarty Pants?”

Reid ignored the name. “We could melt some iron down and pour it over them, only leaving their mouths and fingers exposed. That would prevent them from falling apart, and they would be indestructible”.

Negan was silent for a moment, before he clapped Reid on the shoulder. "That is effective, and badass! You are a smarty pants!” He then slid his hand down Reid’s arm, gently caressing. Reid seemed oblivious as he turned and looked out across the horizon, in the direction of Alexandria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! Please don't hate me!! (Bonus points if you caught the foreshadowing on Prentiss's death) 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eCaif2QKfA 
> 
> Here's the link to the song if you want to listen to it.
> 
> P.S. I know that I'm writing Reid as a whiney weakling, but I'm trying to portray what he would be like after one of his best friends was killed, and another was locked away in complete darkness. Don't worry! There will be more in-character Reid to come!


	12. If You Wanna Get Out Alive, Run for Your Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life at the Sanctuary gets worse for Reid, and the rest of the team mourns the loss of Prentiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Get Out Alive by Three Days Grace.

Hotch sifted through some books in Jesus’s trailer, clutching one to his chest as he thought of Reid. He jumped when there was a knock at the door. “Hotch, it’s me”, a voice from outside called.

“Come in,” Hotch called, trying to keep his voice even.

Morgan walked in, sitting down at the table and watching Hotch sadly. “It was nice of Jesus to let you stay here”.

Hotch nodded silently.

“Get ready. We’re going to get him,” Morgan said, standing up and moving to help Hotch get up. “I talked to Jesus, and he told me where the Savors are: a place called the Sanctuary. It’s an old factory about an hour from here”.

Hotch looked at him like he was insane. “You saw how many men were there last night! I’m sure there are hundreds more at the Sanctuary”.

Morgan frowned. “Hotch, no disrespect, but I need you to get your head out of your ass. This is REID we’re talking about! He loves you, and I know you love him too”.

Hotch put the book on the table and looked at Morgan. “You’re right. Who knows what those bastards are doing to him? He needs our help”. After talking to JJ and Rossi, they had Jesus draw them a map, and then the four of them climbed into the truck and headed back to Alexandria to gather some supplies.

CM

Reid sipped his coffee happily as he played Pac Man, which Negan had so kindly found for him. He didn’t have free reign of the Sanctuary yet, but he was allowed to leave his room to walk up and down the hallway for exercise. Beyond that, he had to have an escort, which was usually Dwight. 

Dwight had told him the sad story of how he escaped the Sanctuary with his wife, Sherry, and they made it almost a mile out when they were caught by Simon. Sherry agreed to marry Negan to save her husband’s life, so Negan ironed his face as punishment. Reid gulped and shivered at that, as he planned to break Daryl out of his cell and escape when Negan gave him a little more leash. 

Just as he finished his third cup of coffee, some women walked into his room, who he recognized as Negan’s wives. “Hello,” he said, a little unsure about what to do. 

They smiled warmly and introduced themselves as Frankie and Tonya. “Negan sent us here to keep you some company,” Frankie said, eying the video game.

“Oh…” Reid said, shifting from foot to foot. Frankie and Tonya were in very short dresses with low cut tops, and it made Reid uncomfortable. 

“What do you like to do for fun?” Tonya asked. She seemed notably less peppy that Frankie. 

“I like to read, and this game is entertaining”.

Frankie smiled. “I used to love Pac Man, but I would get frustrated and give up because it got too hard”.

“Well, you see,” Reid began. “Pac Man is all about strategy. The ghosts are programmed to move certain ways every few seconds, and if you figure that out, it’s quite simple”.

Frankie stared at him. “Are you a genius or something?”

Reid was about to explain how he could read 20,000 words per minute, but decided against it, because Tonya didn’t look like the type who cared. Frankie on the other hand, looked genuinely curious. “Actually, yes. I am”.

“That is so cool!” Frankie giggled, grabbing his arm. “What are some cool things that you can do?”

“I can do some magic,” Reid spluttered.

“Will you show us? Please?” Frankie pleaded, clinging to Reid’s arm. “Negan never lets us do anything fun, besides drinking”.

Reid thought for a moment, before digging through his cabinets, pulling out hydrogen peroxide, yeast, dish soap, and a bottle. He then got some warm water from the sink. “Do you think Negan would be okay with us going outside?” Reid asked. “This is going to be messy”.

“As long as we’re with you, and a guard’s outside, it will be fine,” Tanya replied.

Reid nodded, gathering his ingredients in a box and walked outside with Frankie and Tanya. He poured all the ingredients into the bottle, then stepped back. Fluffy foam began to erupt from the bottle, and Frankie squealed in delight, clapping her hands. She then hugged Reid and kissed him on the cheek. Before Reid could respond, she looked at something over her shoulder and stepped back, bowing her head. Reid slowly turned to see Negan approaching with an entourage of Saviors, as well as Daryl in a dirty sweatshirt and pants. 

“Having fun, are we?” Negan asked. 

Frankie nodded, obviously scared, but trying to meet Negan’s eyes. Negan suddenly pointed to one of the Saviors, known as Fat Joey, with Lucille. “Who are you?” He asked.

“Negan,” Fat Joey replied.

He pointed to Dwight. “Who are you?”

“Negan,” Dwight said.

“Who are all of you?”

“Negan!” The men announced in unison.

Negan then turned to Daryl. “Who are you?”

Daryl was silent for a moment. “Daryl,” he finally huffed, not breaking eye contact with Negan.

“Wrong answer,” Negan spat. He then turned to Reid. “Who are you?”

Reid was silent, not sure what to say.

“Say it, or he dies,” Negan growled, pointing at Daryl with Lucille.

Daryl looked at Reid, pleading with his eyes for Reid to say silent.

Reid bit his lip, before bowing his head. “Negan”.

“Atta boy!” Negan exclaimed, clapping Reid on the back. “Take Daryl back to his cell. He needs a time out,” he told Dwight. Dwight grabbed Daryl by his sweatshirt and pulled him back inside. Negan then turned to Reid. “How about I take you to the market, and you can pick out something you like”.

Reid nodded, but stayed silent, not wanting to make Negan angry. He followed him inside and gave Frankie and Tanya an apologetic glance, before the doors swung shut.

When he and Negan arrived at the market, which was in the basement of the compound, he glanced around, not sure what he should look for.

“What do you want, Spencer?” Negan asked. “I know we have books here”.

Reid’s eyes lit up and he nodded. Negan smiled, draping his arm around Reid and leading him over to a table full of books. The woman running the table looked up and straightened when she realized it was Negan. “What can I help you with, sir?” She asked.

“Well, my boy here wants some books. What have you got today?”

Reid narrowed his eyes, not pleased with the pet names Negan had been giving him.

“I’ve got several romance novels that we scavenged yesterday, and some textbooks as well”. She eyed Reid. “You can take a look if you want”.

Reid nodded, eventually picking out a book about the Great Lakes, and a biology textbook. Negan smiled and told her to take them out of his points, before leading Reid back upstairs and to his room. “Mind if I come in?”

Reid shook is head, afraid to say no, and lead the way inside. He set the books on his bookshelf and began brewing some coffee. 

“You know,” Negan began. “I’ve been awful nice to you, considering what your people did. I think I deserve a thank you”.

Reid turned to look at him, prepared to argue, but thought better of it. “Thank you,” he muttered.

Negan smiled. “You’re such a good boy, unlike Daryl”.

A frown marred Reid’s face as Negan brought up Daryl and deepened at the idea that he thought of them as no more than play-things. 

“Well, I’m gonna go pay your friends at Alexandria a visit. I’ll tell them you said ‘hi’”.

Before Reid could respond, Negan had left and closed the door.

CM

Hotch pulled the truck up to the gates of Alexandria and he, Morgan, JJ, and Rossi walked through the gate when Eric opened it. “Where’s everyone else?” He asked.

Morgan was silent for a moment, before answering. “Negan killed Glenn and Emily and took Daryl and Spencer”.

I’m so sorry,” Eric said, shocked. He looked up at Tobin, who was calling from the watch tower. 

“The Saviors are here!”

Eric ran to find Rick, who had come back the night before with Carl and Abraham. A sudden knock on the gate made Hotch flinch. He could see Negan’s outline through the cloth on the fence, and it made his blood boil. “Little pigs, little pigs!” Negan called. “Let me in!” 

Hotch moved to open the gate and Negan smiled at him. “Hello, Aaron,” Negan chuckled. “Spencer told me all about you”.

Hotch growled. “If you hurt him…”

Negan cut him off. “Excuse the shit out of my goddamn French, but are you threatening me? If you do that again, each time I come here, I’ll cut off a piece of Spencer and bring it to you. Or better yet, I’ll bring him here, and you can do it”.

Hotch’s mouth snapped shut and Negan laughed. “That’s what I thought”.

CM

The hallway was deathly quiet as Reid opened the door. Negan was gone, and he most likely took Dwight and Simon, so this was the perfect time to get Daryl and escape. He had made it halfway down the hallway when a voice from behind made him stop in his tracks.

“Hey, you”.

Reid turned around. “Can I help you?”

“You’re Negan’s little toy, right?” A ragged looking man asked. He was followed by six other men and women, most likely the workers from downstairs. 

“I’m not here by choice,” Reid bit out.

“I don’t care. We’ve been here for months, even years, and we get treated like trash. You’ve only been here for two days and he treats you like royalty. You’re going to pay”.

Slowly backing away, Reid glanced around for anything he could use as a weapon. Suddenly, the workers ran at him and grabbed him, pulling him down the hallway. Reis kicked and struggled, but one of them punched him in the face. They opened up a supply closet and threw him inside, before slamming and locking the door.

“You’ll be staying here for a while,” a voice from outside called. “Now you’ll see how we live”.

Reid banged on the door, crying for help. But who was he kidding? No one here wanted to help him. He turned to look into the supply closet, which was pitch black. He hated the dark, and this reminded him of Hankel, and the awful train car at Terminus. Huddling against the wall, he hugged his legs and prayed that someone would let him out.

CM

Negan whistled as he climbed out of the truck at the Sanctuary. He was glad he got to fuck with Spencer’s boy toy before he left Alexandria. He hummed to himself as he walked down the hall to Spencer’s room and knocked at the door. “Hey, baby. I’m back. Mind letting me in?” He called. 

Spencer didn’t respond.

Negan knocked again, but he still didn’t answer. Angry that his boy was ignoring him, Negan opened the door, only to find that Spencer was gone. He walked into the room and look around, even looking under the bed, but Spencer was nowhere in sight. Negan growled and stalked down to the work floor. As he reached the landing, the workers stopped what they were doing and kneeled. “Where is he?!” Negan roared.

The work floor was silent.

“I know one of you sorry fucks did something to him, because my boy wouldn’t leave,” he spat.

When the floor still remained silent, Negan snarled. “When I find him, whoever took him is as good as dead. I mean it”. He then spun on his heel and stalked back upstairs. The ragged man looked at his coworkers worriedly.

“Spencer!” Negan called once he got to the hallway. “It’s me, baby. You don’t have to be afraid”. As he passed the supply closet, an overwhelming feeling told him to open the door, so he did. As the light poured into the closet, it revealed Spencer in a fetal position, with tear tracks running down his face. Negan knelt so he was eye level with him. “Oh, honey. What did they do to you?”

Spencer didn’t respond, so Negan reached out, only to flinch back when Spencer smacked at him. “It’s okay, Spencer. It’s me,” Negan whispered.

Spencer continued to struggle, so Negan picked him up, pinning his arms against his own chest and carrying Spencer to his room. After walking inside, he kicked the door shut with his foot and sat Spencer on the bed. “Okay, Darlin’, I’m gonna make you some coffee. I know you like that”.

Spencer continued to stare straight ahead as Negan fixed his coffee and poured several scoops of sugar into it. “Here you go,” Negan said as he wrapped Spencer’s hands around the mug. Spencer stared at it but didn’t drink it. “Oh shit. What else can I do?” Negan huffed to himself. He sat down on the bed next to Spencer and pulled him to his chest. “Once upon a time, there was a gorgeous prince, and everyone loved him,” Negan began. “He lived in a lavish castle in a far away land…” He trailed off when he saw that Spencer still wasn’t responding. He glanced around the room and saw Spencer’s bookshelf. “Hot damn. I’ve got an idea”.

He looked through them before he found a biology book and shrugged, sitting back on the bed. “Chapter 1: Cellular Mitosis,” he huffed. “Oh lord. Well, here we go. Mitosis is part of the cell cycle where chromosomes replicate…” He trailed off when Spencer looked up and practically snatched the book from him and began drinking his coffee. 

Negan had never seen Spencer read before, and he was captivated. He flipped through the pages so quickly, that Negan had no idea how he was reading all of it. He began combing his fingers through Spencer’s hair, enjoying the soft, curly locks. Spencer flinched slightly but allowed him to continue. After a few minutes, Negan saw that there were still slightly wet tears on Spencer’s cheeks, so he wiped them away with his scarf. It pained him to see his boy so upset, and he vowed to make whoever did this to him pay.

He watched Spencer read the whole book and smiled when he looked up at him. “There’s those pretty eyes,” Negan sighed, tucking Spencer’s hair behind his ear. He looked up when there was a knock at the door, and Simon walked in, holding a man he recognized as a lowly worker by the wrists. 

“I found the guy that shoved Spencer in the closet,” he spat. “He confessed when I started questioning them”.

Spencer tucked further into Negan’s side, eyes wide. Negan growled, helping him stand. “I’ve got something I wanna show you, baby,” he hummed as he smoothed down Spencer’s unruly hair. He then gestured for Simon to lead the way, and Spencer followed obediently after Negan, afraid of what would happen if he didn’t. 

They made their way to the platform and down the stairs to a wood stove that was built into the wall, which was already lit. The worker began struggling as the rest of the workers filed in, staying ominously silent. Dwight gave Spencer a sad smile as he lifted a red-hot iron out of the fire with a hook. Negan slid on a welding glove as Simon pushed the worker down in a chair.

Negan then turned to face the workers. “I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that your buddy here locked Spencer in a closet, and I know I made it very clear that no one touches my boy but me”. 

The workers muttered amongst themselves quietly, staring at Spencer. He could see the other workers that attacked him standing near the back of the crowd.

“Let this be a warning for the rest of you,” Negan announced, reaching for the iron. Before he could, he stopped, seeming to ponder something before hauling the man up. Spencer covered his mouth in horror as the man screamed when Negan practically threw him forward into the oven. His legs flailed as tortured screams erupted from his mouth, before he went limp. 

Negan turned, smoothing his hair back and laughing. “The fucker deserved it”. He then turned to Spencer, grabbing his hand and leading him back upstairs. He frowned when he felt his hand shaking slightly. “Honey, you know I had to do it right? If I didn’t, those rats would never learn that you’re mine”.

Spencer shivered at that, but it seemed that Negan didn’t notice. When they got back to Spencer’s room, he sat down on the bed, curling into himself. Negan glanced at the darkness outside, before turning and leaving, locking the door behind him. 

Spencer laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He must have zoned out, because suddenly Negan was back, holding his hands behind his back with a shit eating grin on his face. Spencer eyed him skeptically. 

“I gathered that you’re afraid of the dark, and I feel bad as shit that you’ve been sleeping in it for the past few days, so I got this for you”. He brought something wrapped in bow from around his back and handed it to Spencer. He took it and laughed when he saw that it was a teddy bear night light. 

“You didn’t have to get this for me,” he began.

“Nonsense!” Negan bellowed. “Plug it in! See if it works!”

Spencer carefully pulled the bow off and plugged it into the wall, smiling when he saw the gentle glow shining through the bear. He turned and was shocked to see Negan laying on the couch. He had taken his leather jacket and scarf off and was now only in his white t-shirt and brown pants. Negan saw his quizzical stare and smiled. “No way in hell I’m letting you sleep alone tonight”.

Spencer backed up, feeling uncomfortable. “No, I’m…”

Negan cut him off with a loud yawn and pulled a blanket around himself. Spencer sighed and flicked the light off, before crawling into bed, not wanting to change into pajamas with Negan in the room. Negan smirked at that but stayed silent. 

CM

Spencer woke to the bed dipping beside him, and a warm arm slipping around his waist. In his drowsy state, he assumed it was Hotch for a second, before a warm mouth kissed behind his ear. His eyes widened when he realized it was Negan, and quickly thought about what he should do. He could squirm out of his grasp and make a run for it, or he could lay here and let Negan fulfill his weird fantasy. Both would have consequences, but the consequences of running would likely be painful, and he needed to be on Negan’s good side to escape with Daryl. 

He swallowed down the bile in his throat as Negan’s hand stroked his stomach, and he felt his growing erection grinding into his backside. He tried to pretend that he was asleep, but Negan’s tongue began licking along the nape of his neck, leaving hot stripes across his skin. He shivered and Negan practically purred. “Good boy,” a gravelly voice whispered in his ear, and Spencer bit down on his tongue to keep from yelling at Negan to stop. This was so degrading; he had to let Negan touch him in order to rescue his friend and make it back to Alexandria. 

Spencer squeezed his eyes shut tightly when Negan wrapped his hand around his member, stroking lightly, and tears of shame began to trickle down his cheeks as he began to harden in Negan’s grasp. Negan chucked and pulled him closer, grinding harder against his ass. “Don’t worry,” Negan whispered. “I won’t go any further than this tonight”. 

It took all Spencer had to not turn and punch Negan in the face. He made up his mind right then: he was escaping tomorrow.

CM

Hotch squinted into the sun as he drove the truck down the deserted road toward the Sanctuary. Morgan sat in the passenger seat, and Rick sat in the back. Hotch had told him that he didn’t have to come, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

They were loaded with guns and ammo, as well as melee weapons like shovels. Negan didn’t stand a chance if he had hurt Spencer. Hotch narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. 

CM

Spencer shivered as he changed out of his come-stained clothes. He desperately wanted to bathe, as he felt dirty, but he didn’t have time; Negan was currently at another community, The Kingdom, and now was his chance to escape.

After changing his clothes, Spencer grabbed a backpack and filled it with his nightlight, several books, and a tin off coffee. He slowly opened the door and made his way down the stairs to the room where he knew Negan kept the keys to the cells. The workers didn’t bat an eye as he did this: they knew better now.

Grabbing the key to the cells, Spencer quickly made his way to Daryl’s cell and unlocking the door, he peeked inside and almost sobbed at what he saw: Daryl was huddled into the corner, completely naked. “Daryl, it’s me,” he whispered. 

Daryl’s head shot up and he practically flew to Spencer, before pulling him into a hug, letting their foreheads touch. “I was so worried about ya, Spencer,” he muttered. “Did they hurt ya?”

“Not exactly,” Spencer sighed.

At Daryl’s shocked look, Spencer shook his head. “There’s no time now. Negan isn’t here, so we need to go”. They made their way down the hallway, and Daryl tried the doorknob to a room that he knew was Dwight’s. He snuck inside and pulled on some clothes, before slowly closing the door again. Spencer lead the way down the hallway, passing a few workers that respectfully nodded their heads at him. Daryl looked at him questioningly, and he shrugged.

They finally made it to the doors and pushed them open, squinting into the bright afternoon sun. He motioned for Daryl to follow him around the walker cage and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a familiar truck, and an even more familiar driver pulling up the gravel road toward the Sanctuary. Spencer held in a sob as he ran toward it, frantically waving his arms.

Hotch practically threw the truck into park before jumping from the driver’s seat onto the gravel and sprinting toward Spencer. They met halfway and collided into a tearful hug. Hotch pulled Spencer’s chin up and kissed him passionately, letting tears freely flow down his face. “I thought I lost you,” he whispered against Spencer’s lips. 

Spencer chuckled. “You’ll have to try a lot harder than that”. He smiled as he saw Daryl hugging Rick, rubbing his hand softly against his back.

Finally, Hotch pulled away. “We need to get out of here”.

Spencer nodded. “Negan is gone right now, and I have no idea when he’ll be back”. They walked back to the truck and climbed in.

“Pretty Boy!” Morgan exclaimed. 

Spencer smiled and allowed himself to be pulled into a hug. Well, as much of a hug that he could get while sitting in a truck. 

“Did he hurt you?” Morgan asked, suddenly serious. 

Spencer shook his head. “Negan gave me a nice bedroom with a piano and a nightlight, and he even gave me donuts, coffee, and books”.

Morgan’s mouth fell open and Hotch looked at him skeptically, seeing through his façade. Spencer bit his lip and lowered his eyes, and Hotch relented, seeming to sense that this was not a conversation to be had in a truck. He put the truck in reverse and rolled back down the gravel road, before pulling onto the highway and shifting into drive. 

The drive back to Alexandria was silent, and Hotch kept his finger’s twined with Spencer’s over the center console the whole way back. When they got to the gates, Tara pulled them open and smiled when she saw Spencer and Daryl in the car. After they parked, Reid climbed from the car and Hotch offered to take his backpack, grunting in surprise at the weight. He peeked inside and rolled his eyes. Of course, he had to bring a huge book back. Hotch then led Spencer into the house, and JJ and Rossi hugged him. 

“Oh my God, Spence,” JJ murmured. “I’m so glad you’re okay. We were all so worried”. 

Spencer smiled at her and slowly sat down at the kitchen table. Hotch sat next to him, while Morgan sat across from him, and JJ and Rossi took the remaining seats.

“Spencer,” Hotch said as he smoothed his hand along Reid’s back. “What happened?”

Spencer began to shiver as he recounted all that Negan had done to him. At first, he had no idea what Negan meant by his touches. But after last night, he knew what it was. He sighed softly, before looking at his lap. “He touched me, Aaron”. 

Hotch’s hand tightened into a fist and Morgan growled. “I want his head on a stake!”

“I’ll kill him,” Hotch seethed. 

“I’ll help,” Morgan yelled.

JJ covered her mouth in shock as tears began to fall from Reid’s eyes. Hotch nodded at the team as he helped Reid up and they slowly made their way upstairs. When they reached their room, Reid sat on the bed and stared at his hands. 

“Spencer,” Hotch began. “Did he…” he trailed off, scared of what Reid might say.

Reid shook his head. “He didn’t penetrate me if that’s what your asking”. He looked down at his hands again. “I’m so sorry, Aaron. He touched me, and I couldn’t help it: I came twice,” Reid whispered, feeling disgusted with himself. “Maybe if I had just mustered up the courage…” he trailed off.

Hotch sat next to Reid, shushing him. “Don’t you dare say that this is your fault. That man is a monster, and he deserves to rot in hell”.

CM

“Spencer!” Negan called as he made his way up to his room. As usual, Spencer didn’t answer, and Negen groaned. “Come on baby, open the door”.

Anger bubbled up inside of him when the door didn’t open. He tried the doorknob and was surprised to see that it was unlocked. “Spencer?” Negan asked as he poked his head into the room. When he didn’t see Spencer, he growled and stomped down to the work floor. “Where’s Spencer?!” He yelled, seething. One of the workers looked up, confused. 

“He left earlier today with the prisoner. He had the key, so we thought you gave him to go-ahead”.

Negan growled, spinning io his heel and almost colliding with Simon. “Get Dwight and Arat. We’re going to Alexandra!”

CM

Hotch opened the door to he and Spencer’s bedroom to see JJ looking at him with worried eyes. “Negan is here. Reid and Daryl have to hide”.

Hotch’s eyes flew to Reid, who had visibly paled, and grabbed his arm, leading him to the only place he knew Negan wouldn’t look: the hidden attic. “Spencer, you have to stay up here until Negan leaves. I’ll prop the window open so it’s not too hot”. He then leaned in to try and kiss Reid, but he flinched away. He frowned and turned to the entrance to the attic when he heard someone climbing the stairs.  
Daryl cautiously looked into the attic, nodding at Hotch, then turning to gaze at Reid. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here for ‘em”.

Hotch nodded and placed his hand on Daryl’s shoulder before descending the stairs and shutting the door behind him. When Daryl was sure Hotch was gone, he turned to Reid, taking in his shivering form. “’S alright. They won’t find us up here”.

Reid nodded, but his eyes were far away. Daryl sat down next to him, and they both froze when they heard Negan’s bellowing voice.

“Oh, you’ve done it now! Where’s Spencer? I know he came back here”.

Hotch looked at him with a face of feigned shock. “He’s not with you?”

Negan growled. “The little smarty pants escaped while I was gone”.

“Well, he’s not here. I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Hotch mumbled, fighting to keep his self-control in check. He glanced over at Rick, who looked like he was about to do something stupid. Carl approached Negan, looking pissed.

“Why don’t you just leave? Hotch said he wasn’t here”.

“Carl!” Rick hissed. “Go back inside”.

Carl glared at Rick, refusing to back down. Hotch laid his hand on Carl’s shoulder, and he visibly relaxed. “Carl, go see if Rossi needs help with anything. I know he was trying to fix up that car,” he fought the need to flinch at the weak story, but Carl nodded and turned, making his way toward their houses.

“Oh shit, Rick! Your boy is taking orders from another man, and not you!” Negan laughed.

Rick seethed. “This is none of your concern”.

Negan chuckled and walked to Hotch, slinging Lucille over his shoulder. “So, Aaron. Did you know that Spencer and I had a little love affair?”

Hotch glared. “I highly doubt that”.

“Oh, you do? Well, I wish you could have heard the sweet little moans he would let out,” Negan said, loud enough for Morgan to hear, who was watching from the porch. He smirked when Morgan’s eyes widened and he clenched his fists at his sides. 

Daryl looked at Reid, who was turning paler by the minute.

“He opened up like a flower!” Negan’s voice carried in through the window, clear as a bell.

Daryl jumped when Reid suddenly gagged and jolted forward, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the floor, with some of it splattering onto Daryl’s lap. 

“Shh, ‘s fine. Let it out,” Daryl whispered, rubbing Reid’s back. 

Reid covered his mouth, attempting to stop any more from coming out. He prayed that Negan would leave soon; he couldn’t take any more of this.

As if Negan had heard his silent pleas, he looked Hotch up and down one last time. “Alright, I believe you. But if I ever find him here, you better believe that I will take him back, and it will not be pretty”. He then gestured for Simon, Dwight, and Arat to roll out.

Hotch watched with narrowed eyes as he left and motioned for Rick to close the gate. A sound from behind made him turn, and he raised an eyebrow when he saw Daryl approaching him with a mysterious substance splattered across his pants.

“Ya might wanna go talk to Spencer. He just lost his lunch all over me”.

Hotch frowned and jogged back to the house, nodding at Morgan as he climbed the stairs and opened the door, closing it behind him. Cautiously, he made his way to the second floor and padded to their shared room. His heart broke at what he saw: Spencer sat on the bed, vomit staining his sweater, and shaking like a leaf.

“Spencer?” He asked.

Reid’s head shot up and he frantically shrugged his shirt off, digging through the drawer for a clean one. “I’m sorry, Hotch. I didn’t mean for you to see me like that”.

Hotch sighed and sat down on the bed, motioning for Reid to join him “It’s alright. You couldn’t help it”. He forced himself not to smile at Reid’s angry face, which he thought was quite cute.

“I’m not this fragile child that can’t take care of themselves,” Reid huffed. “Ever since I’ve gotten back from the Sanctuary, people tiptoe around me like I might break”. He flinched when Hotch reached for him.

“Spencer, we’re just worried about you,” Hotch whispered, easing Reid against his side. His heart broke as he began to shake again. “Relax, sweetheart. It’s only me. He can’t hurt you anymore”.

Reid nodded and melted into Hotch’s gentle touch, sighing when Hotch pulled him into a gentle kiss.

CM

“Fucking fuck!” Negan roared as Arat pulled the truck through the gates of the Sanctuary. “Where would Spencer and that redneck-piece-of-shit have gone?”

Simon cleared his throat. “I would recommend doing a thorough search of Alexandria. I’m sure those rats have a few holes to hide in”.

Negan growled. “Do you think I don’t know that, Simon?” He beat Lucille against the chain-link fence. “We’ll have to look when we have more time and resources. Do you know how much gas it takes to drive there?”

Simon bowed his head and stepped back, angry for getting yelled at like a child. 

“I need my fucking Dr. Smarty Pants back! If he knew how to make armor for walkers, he sure as hell knew how to make other things!” Negan seethed, resting Lucille on his shoulder. Simon and Dwight slunk away, and he sighed, tired of dealing with those idiots. He needed to see his wives.

“Hello, darlings!” Negan called as he walked into his wives’ room. They looked up at him from sipping their wine and playing checkers. He walked up to Frankie and sat next to her. “You talked to Spencer, didn’t you?”

She looked up at him and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Yes, I did. He seemed like a sweet kid”.

Negan smiled a toothy grin. “Do you happen to know where he went?”

Frankie shook her head. “He never really told us about where he came from. All he talked about was reading and magic tricks”.

Negan sighed. “Of course, he did”.

“Negan, what did you do to him?” Frankie asked, dropping the shy demeanor. “He seemed traumatized”.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Negan chuckled before standing up. “Maybe I gave him too much leash. He sure chocked me with it”.

Frankie looked across the room at Tanya, who gave her a small smile. They were glad that at least one person got out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Spencer escaped!


	13. Author’s Note

Hi everyone! Sorry about not uploading for a while. I debated on not posting this author’s note, but I think it’s best. 

I am writing this fanfiction to investigate how these characters would interact. I am a full-time college student, and this is just a hobby to keep me sane. I am not the best writer out there, and I am very aware of that. If you are not liking the story, don’t continue to read it. If you are, that’s great! I’m glad that you enjoy my creation! 

I’ve been watching TWD since it first aired, and honestly, I killed off some of the characters, or just didn’t write them because they were not necessary to this particular story. Nothing is done for shock value.


	14. It’s the Eye of the Tiger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hotch, Reid, Morgan, and Carol go out to investigate an abandoned supermarket when they are met with a strange situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.

Morgan adjusted the strap on his bag as he, Reid, Hotch, and Carol made their way down a deserted road. Alexandria was dangerously low on supplies, and they had volunteered to go scout for more. Luckily, they hadn’t seen many walkers, and the ones that they had seen were weak and easily dispatched. A sudden noise made them halt in their tracks.

“What is that?” Morgan asked.

“It doesn’t matter” Reid explained. “The walkers will be drawn to it, and we don’t want to be around when that happens”. 

At that, Hotch continued to lead the way toward the abandoned supermarket that Tara has found a few days earlier. It had most likely been raided already, but they clung to the hope that some supplies and food were left over. 

The sudden rumble of a car manifested from behind, and they spun around to see a rusty pickup headed their way. Reid paled. “That’s one of the Saviors’ trucks”.

The truck stopped a few feet away from them and a few scruffy-looking men climbed out. “What the hell do we have here?” One of the men chuckled. 

Hotch stepped forward menacingly. “We’re simply scavenging for supplies. We aren’t bothering you”.

“You won’t be bothering us anymore,” the man sneered. “Negan told us to be on the lookout for you. He instructed us not to kill you, but that’s an order I’m willing to ignore”. He raised the gun but stumbled back as Carol raised her gun and opened fire. The other men in the truck fired back but were quickly shot down by Carol.

“Is everyone alright?” Hotch asked as the gunfire ceased. 

Carol and Reid nodded, but their eyes were drawn to Morgan as he pressed his hand against his shoulder. Reid grabbed his hand and pulled it away, revealing a gunshot wound. “Morgan, we’ll get you some help,” Reid said as he pulled a cloth from his bag and pressed it to the wound. 

Hotch glanced around, desperately looking for any place that looked like it had medical supplies. A horse whinny from behind him caused him to spin around, and he was shocked to see two men on horses with riot gear and spears. 

“State your names and reason for being in close proximity to the Kingdom,” one man announced. 

“I’m Aaron, and this is Carol, Spencer, and Derek. Please, Derek needs help. He’s been shot”.

The man looked at Morgan, taking in the bloodied rag pressed against his shoulder. “Alright. We’ll get your friend some help. Come with us”.

The group followed the men on the horses to some large wooden gates, which swung open to reveal a large community. As they walked through the gates of the Kingdom, Morgan stumbled and fell to the ground.

CM

Morgan blinked his eyes open, and looked around, startled to see that he was in a hospital bed. He began to struggle to sit up when Hotch and Reid entered the room.

“It’s okay, Morgan. You’re safe,” Hotch muttered calmly.

“What is this place?” Morgan asked.

Hotch cleared his throat. “They call this place the Kingdom. We’ve been invited to meet the leader when you’re feeling up to it”.

Morgan nodded and sat up on the bed, before slowly standing up.

“Don’t do anything that you feel like you can’t,” Reid said as he handed Morgan his clothes.

Hotch and Reid waited outside as Morgan changed from the hospital gown into his clothes, then went outside to meet Carol. One of the men who brought them to the Kingdom was standing with her.

“Hello. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Richard,” the man explained. 

Hotch nodded at him, and then they were led to a large building that looked to be a church. Richard opened the doors and led them down a hallway, before stopping outside of an auditorium. “May a present His Majesty, King Ezekiel”.

The group looked at him skeptically as they entered the auditorium and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a man sitting on a throne on the stage, with a tiger sitting next to him.

“I forgot to mention that Ezekiel has a tiger,” Richard whispered. 

“Come forward!” Ezekiel announced. “Do not be afraid”.

Hotch stepped forward first, followed by the others, until they were standing in front of the stage. 

“I have heard plenty about you,” Ezekiel chuckled. “How are you doing, Derek?”

“Better, thank you,” Morgan said, still uncertain of the “King”.

Reid looked at the tiger with wide eyes. Ezekiel noticed and chuckled. “Do not be afraid of Shiva. She will not attack anyone that I trust”.

Shiva looked at Reid and chuffed, before laying down and yawning.

“Tell me,” Ezekiel began. “What do you think of the Kingdom? What do you think of the King?”

Carol chuckled. “It’s amazing! I don’t know what the hell is going on in the most wonderful way!” 

Hotch glanced at her, knowing that she was completely bullshitting the response. Carol was very manipulative and smart and was most likely trying to get Ezekiel to trust her. 

“Do I sense skepticism?” Ezekiel asked as he looked at Hotch. 

“Not at all. This is a wonderful community. It’s amazing that Negan hasn’t found it yet.” Hotch replied.

Ezekiel’s face fell. “Oh, he has. We give our tribute to him weekly”. He then brightened up and looked at Reid. “Come say hello to Shiva. I see that you are still afraid. There is no need to be”. He then looked behind the stage. “Jerry! Come help our friend Spencer up onto the stage”.

A man with riot gear and a spear stepped out from behind the stage and smiled brightly at Reid. “Come on up, man!” He grabbed Reid’s hand and began pulling him onto the stage. Jerry was much bigger than Reid, and easily pulled him up.

Hotch opened his mouth to argue, but decided not to, given he and Reid’s earlier conversation about Reid being able to take care of himself. 

Ezekiel smiled. “Stick out your hand and let Shiva smell it”.

Reid’s eyes were wide as he shakily stuck out his hand, and he held his breath as Shiva smelled it. She was still fore a moment, before she began to purr and rubbed her face against his hand. Reid glanced at Hotch and a shaky smile formed across his face.

“Behold! Shiva enjoys your presence,” Ezekiel chuckled.

Reid laughed and let Shiva continue to rub against him, before climbing off of the stage and smiling at Hotch. 

Hotch looked up at Ezekiel. “Thank you very much for your hospitality, but we really have to get going”.

“Very well,” Ezekiel announced. “But please take some of our delicious fruit, grown right here at the Kingdom”.

Jerry appeared from behind the stage curtain with a bag full of fruit, and grinned as he handed it to Hotch. Hotch took it and nodded at Ezekiel, before he, Reid, Morgan, and Carol left the church and headed to the gates. Richard opened them and nodded. “Have a safe trip back”.

Hotch watched as the gates closed and turned to Reid. “What’s the quickest way back to Alexandria? We don’t have a vehicle, and it will take us hours on foot”.

“There’s a small lake on the other side of those trees,” Reid explained. “I heard Negan saying that he and the Saviors use it as a short cut to get to the Kingdom”.

Morgan’s mouth dropped open. “How much did you overhear them talking about, Pretty Boy?”

“Oh, I didn’t overhear anything. They talked about private affairs in front of me all the time. I guess they were pretty confident that I wouldn’t escape,” Reid said nonchalantly. 

Hotch growled at that, but nudged Reid forward. “Let’s go then. We can’t afford to spend any more time out here. The Saviors will likely come looking for the men that we killed”.

Reid led the way into the trees, pleased that Hotch was letting him go first. “There should be a boat of some sort to cross the lake”. After walking for a few minutes, he stopped and pointed through the few remaining trees. Hotch squinted and saw the “small lake”, which looked more like a fish pond. They took the last few steps through the trees and saw a small metal fishing boat sitting on the shore. 

“Ooooh, no,” Morgan began. “I’m not getting in that thing”.

“What choice do we have?” Carol asked. “If we go around and keep walking, it will take hours”.

Hotch pushed the boat into the water and climbed inside. “Reid, grab those oars. We’re going to have to paddle across”. 

The remaining three climbed into the boat, and Reid and Hotch rowed the oars. They were about halfway across when a bump on the bottom of the boat made them freeze. “The hell was that?” Morgan asked. Suddenly, a rotting arm surfaced from the depths, followed by dozens more.

“Shit!” Hotch hissed, franticly paddling with his oar. Reid’s oar was ripped away by a walker, and Hotch’s paddling began spinning them in a circle. He yelped as a large bump from beneath the boat sent it toppling over and he and Carol fell into the water. 

“Aaron!” Reid cried, attempting to dive in after him. 

Morgan steadied the boat and grabbed Reid’s arm. “Reid, that’s suicide”.

Reid continued to struggle and watched with bated breath as the water began to splash. He cried out in relief as Hotch surfaced with Carol in tow, and they scrambled up on the boat.

“Jesus, Hotch, that scared the shit out of me,” Morgan panted.

“Me too,” Hotch sighed as he allowed Reid to check him for bites and scratches, even though he was sure he didn’t have any.

After Reid was sure that neither Hotch or Carol had any bites, they continued on their way back to Alexandria. Hotch’s clothes were soaked and he winced every time his inner thighs rubbed against the course fabric of his pants. After twenty minutes, he had resorted to walking like a penguin, much to Morgan’s amusement.

“Just take them off, Hotch!” Morgan laughed.

Hotch glared at him. “I’m not walking the rest of the way in my boxers”.

“No one’s around but us,” Reid chuckled. “And I would honestly enjoy that”. He grumbled that last part out, and Hotch smiled.

CM

Rossi pulled open the gate and stared in shock at a pant-less Hotch and an amused looking Carol, Morgan, and Reid. “What happened?” He asked.

“We took a short cut, and it didn’t end well,” Morgan explained, glancing at Hotch and cracking up.

Hotch grumbled and stalked into Alexandria with Reid on his heels. When they got back to the house, Hotch peeled the rest of his clothes off and climbed into bed. He was still freezing from the water and the fluffy blankets felt heavenly. Reid climbed in next to him and Hotch spooned against him. “Are you up for anything tonight?” He asked.

Reid turned to look at Hotch with hooded eyes and smiled. “I’m always up for anything with you”.

*Smut starts here*

Hotch returned his smile and kissed him sweetly, allowing his hands to roam over Reid’s body. Reid moaned and rolled to face him, melting into the kiss and allowing their erections to grind together. Hotch growled at the barrier of clothing between them and reached to pull down Reid’s boxers, groaning when hot flesh pressed together. 

Taking both of their lengths in hand, Reid gently stroked them, shuddering at the feel of Hotch in his grasp. “Lube?” Hotch suddenly muttered against his lips. Reid nodded and reached his arm back, fumbling around in the drawer and grunting in victory when his fingers closed around the bottle. He handed it to Hotch and watched as the other man poured it across his fingers. 

Hotch gestured for Reid to roll on his back, and Reid obeyed, before watching as Hotch crawled between his spread legs. Eyes rolled back as fingers massaged his entrance, before one gently slipped inside to the first knuckle. One finger quickly turned to two, and he moaned as they were pumped quickly inside of him. “Aaron, please,” he whined, gazing up at Hotch through long eyelashes. 

“Be patient Spencer,” Hotch whispered. “I don’t want to hurt you”. He gently scissored his fingers and smirked when Reid cried out as he brushed over his prostate. After a few more thrusts, he decided that he had prepared Reid enough and grabbed the man’s legs, placing them on his shoulders. Reid stared up at him in awe as he gently thrust inside, groaning at the tight heat hugging his length. Slowly but surely, he sank inside until he pelvis was flush against Reid’s.

Reid let his legs drop to slide around Hotch’s waist and pulled the man down into a sloppy kiss. “Move,” he groaned after a few seconds of kissing.

Making sure that he had enough traction on the bed, Hotch slowly pulled out before plunging back in, setting a slow and leisurely pace. He smiled into Reid’s neck as the man cried out. Concentrating on not going too fast, he gasped in surprised pleasure when Reid sank his teeth into his neck.

“Harder, Aaron,” Reid whimpered, scratching his nails down Hotch’s back.

“You really want it hard?” Hotch growled. 

Reid nodded frantically and watched as Hotch leaned back on his haunches, pounding into him with ferocity. He wailed in pleasure as his prostate was slammed into over and over, and desperately scrambled for purchase against the headboard.

Hotch watched in fascination as his member slipped in and out of Reid, enjoying the sight of his hole clinging to him on every thrust out. He glanced up when Reid grabbed his arm.

“Aaron,” Reid moaned. “Can I ride you?”

Hotch’s mouth went dry as he stared down at Reid, utterly debauched on the bed. “Are you sure?”

Reid nodded.

“I need a verbal answer, Spencer”.

Reid’s eyes flicked up to meet his. “Yes, please, Aaron. I want to”.

Licking his lips, Hotch moved to lay down next to Reid, helping the man clamber to his knees. Reid carefully straddled him, and he reached down to grab his member as Spencer slowly sank down onto him. A sweet moan left Spencer’s lips as Hotch’s length entered him, and he bit his lip as he stared down at him.

Hotch locked eyes with Reid and moved to grab his hips, helping him bounce on his dick. This new angle allowed him to sink deeper into Spencer, and he groaned at the increased tightness.

Crying out with each pass over his prostate, Reid practically slammed himself down onto Hotch. A familiar tingling began in his stomach, and he tightened his anus around Hotch’s length. “I’m close,” he panted.

Hotch’s eyes flicked up to meet his. “Can I come inside you?”

“Yes. Please Aaron,” Reid moaned, before white blurred out his vision and he came across Hotch’s chest.

Hotch moaned at the sight Reid coming, and grunted as he came inside of him, filling him up to the brim with his seed. After a minute or two, Reid lifted himself off and fell on the bed next to him. Hotch rolled to face him and grinned happily, leaning forward to claim Reid’s lips in a kiss.


	15. It’s All Over for You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another run goes awry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from It’s All Over by Three Days Grace.

It had been a few weeks since the fiasco at the Kingdom, and Alexandria was running low on supplies yet again. Rick turned to Daryl to go for a run, as Carl had been injured and Rick needed to stay behind. 

Spencer looked up when someone knocked at the door. He opened it to see Daryl with a rifle slung over his shoulder. Abe and I are goin’ on a run. Ya comin’?” 

“Sure. I haven’t been out in a while,” Spencer said as he grabbed his gun.

Hotch emerged from around the corner, scowl on his face. “Mind if I go?”

Daryl smiled knowingly. “Sure. We’re looking for food, but yer welcome to look for other things”.

Hotch quirked his brow, before he and Spencer headed toward the truck, which Abe was loading with supplies. After they had all climbed in, Eric opened the gate and waved them off.

They had been driving for almost an hour when Abe pointed toward a large building. “That’s a canned food plant. There’s bound to still be some inside”.

Daryl nodded and stopped the truck, turning off the engine. 

The door to the warehouse opened easily and the four men silently slipped inside. Their eyes widened when they saw row upon row of shelves full of cans.

“Gentlemen,” Abraham announced. “We’ve hit the jackpot”.

Hotch rolled his eyes as he and Spencer began to fill their bags with cans. Daryl took what they had collected and dumped it in the bed of the truck, before trying to start it. “Shit,” he hissed. “Battery’s dead.”

Abraham lifted the hood. “Sure is. Guess we’re walkin’”.

Spencer sighed, before they all grabbed their bags and began walking back, following the railroad tracks. 

“You know, Spencer, you’re alright. Sorry I never really talked to you before now,” Abraham said as he rubbed his neck. “I guess I was too busy with…” He trailed off as an arrow flew through the back of his head, exiting through his eye. 

The group stared in horror as he collapsed. 

“Sorry about that,” a voice from the trees called. “He wasn’t who I was aiming for”.

Daryl narrowed is eyes a Dwight stepped out of the trees, and zeroed in on his beloved crossbow, which was now in Dwight’s grubby hands.

“Hey, Spencer. Negan’s been looking for you,” Dwight chuckled. 

Hotch growled and pulled Spencer closer to him. “You’re not taking him again”.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Dwight chuckled as at least ten men emerged from the trees, guns drawn. 

Daryl raised his gun, preparing to fight, but lowered it when he looked at Spencer. If he fired at Dwight, Spencer and Hotch would get hit in the crossfire. He growled when Dwight approached Hotch, gun raised, and pulled Spencer away. Hotch raised his gun, but one of the Saviors came from behind, pressing a knife to his throat.

“Well, I hate to leave after we just got here, but I got what I came for,” Dwight announced. “Roll out!”

The Savior removed the knife from Hotch’s throat and joined the rest of his group as they filed back into the trees. A truck started and Hotch and Daryl listened as it drove away.

CM

“Boss!” Simon called as he knocked on Negan’s door. “You might wanna see this”.

Negan opened the door, scowling at Simon. “This better be good”.

Simon smiled menacingly. “Oh, it is”.

CM

Spencer struggled as Dwight pulled him from the truck. “Don’t touch me,” he growled.

“I would watch your tone with me, kid,” Dwight sighed as he pulled Spencer into the Sanctuary.

Spencer gulped as he saw hundreds of Saviors staring at him; he knew escaping wouldn’t be so easy this time. 

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” a familiar voice boomed from behind him. 

Spencer slowly turned to look at the man standing on the railing, bat propped on his shoulder.

“It’s been a while, baby”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is so short. Finals are coming up soon and I'm booked for time!


	16. Raise Your Hands If You’re Sick of It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Daryl and Hotch return, tensions in Alexandria come to a boil. Meanwhile, Negan offers Spencer a job at the Sanctuary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Sick of It by Skillet.

Spencer held Negan’s gaze with wide eyes, desperately trying to remember if he’d seen a way out. Negan’s mouth parted into a toothy grin that made Spencer’s stomach lurch, and the man grabbed Lucille before making his way down the stairs to the work floor. “Did you miss me?” Negan asked as he draped his arm across Spencer’s shoulders.

Spencer resisted the urge to vomit and shook is head. 

“Aw, that hurt my feelings!” Negan chuckled, pulling Spencer closer. He then turned to face the workers on the floor, as well as Dwight, Simon, and Arat. “Alright, ya bunch of pussies! You’re not gonna let Spencer here slip out anymore are ya?” 

A collective “no” was his answer and Negan smiled, before turning and pulling Spencer up the stairs and towards his room. As soon as the door was shut behind them, Negan rounded on Spencer angrily. “I didn’t want to have to lock you up again, but it looks like that’s what it’s come to,” he sighed, running his gloved hand over his face. He suddenly paused, glancing at Spencer. “Unless you can prove to me that you won’t run off again”. 

Spencer gulped. “What did you have in mind?” He would do whatever he could if it meant that Negan wouldn’t lock that door. 

A wolfish grin spread across Negan’s face as he leaned Lucille against the wall and began to shrug his leather jacket off. Spencer shrunk back, eyes wide. “Relax, kid. I’m not gonna fuck you,” Negan laughed. This didn’t reassure Spencer, and he continued to back up until he backed into the bed, causing his knees to buckle, and he fell backwards onto the mattress. “I want you to suck me off with that pretty mouth”.

CM

Hotch fought the urge to cry as he and Daryl lugged Abraham’s lifeless body toward the truck lot that they had passed on the way to the factory. Luckily the gate was unlocked, and Daryl quickly found a truck that he hotwired. 

“Help me lift ‘em into the back,” Daryl grunted, and Hotch obliged. After the back was secured, Daryl climbed into the driver’s seat and Hotch into the passenger seat. They sat in silence for a few minutes as they drove, until Daryl finally spoke up. “We’ll get ‘em back”.

Hotch glanced at him. “It won’t be easy; they’ll be on high alert at the Sanctuary, and there’s no way Negan will let Spencer out of his sight again”.

Daryl grunted. “Yer not gonna let that stop you are ya? Ya know he wouldn’t give up if ya were taken”. 

Suddenly all of Hotch’s walls simultaneously tumbled and he began to sob, letting his chin fall against his chest. “I’ve lost too many people, and I can’t lose him; I love him too much”.

Daryl bit at his thumbnail, unsure what to say. He slowly reached over and patted Hotch on the shoulder. “’S alrigh’. Spencer’s tough. He’ll figure out how to make it”.

CM

Spencer gagged, clutching at his throat as Negan sat down next to him on the bed. “Shit that was good,” he sighed. “You do that for your man?” 

Spencer ducked his head, trying and failing to hide his blush. Negan chuckled, slapping him on the back. “Well, I guess you’ve earned having your door unlocked”. Spencer perked up, staring up at him. “But under one condition,” Negan growled. “You have to stay upstairs”. Spencer nodded, eyes wide. 

Negan stood and stretched, making his way to the door. “Oh, and one more thing,” he chuckled, turning to glance at Spencer. “How about a “thank you”?

CM

Hotch kept his eyes on his lap as Rick pulled open the gate and Daryl drove the truck through. Morgan, JJ, and Rossi stood on the porch, waiting for Hotch and Reid to exit. 

“Where’s Abraham?” Rick asked.

Daryl shook his head, gesturing to the back of the truck. Tara stifled a sob as she glanced in the back, and Rick laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

Morgan jogged over, looking worried. “Where’s Pretty Boy?” He asked, glancing at Hotch’s tear-stained face.

“They took him,” Hotch sighed, looking completely dejected. 

“And you just let it happen?” Morgan roared, causing Hotch to flinch. 

Daryl growled, glaring at Morgan. “You better watch your mouth, Sunshine”.

Morgan scoffed. “Did you two just stand there and watch as they took him?” He jolted back in surprise as Daryl punched him. His eyes widened as Daryl shoved him back, hair falling in his face and eyes wild. 

“You have no idea, do you?” Daryl snarled. “We were completely outnumbered by those pricks, and we couldn’t fight back, because I could never forgive myself if Spencer got hit in the crossfire. He’s one of my best friends, and I could never hurt him”.

Morgan opened his mouth to respond, but Daryl cut him off.

“And Hotch poured his heart out in that goddamn truck because he feels responsible for the deaths of our people and for Spencer being taken, so you can just keep yer fuckin’ mouth shut, ‘fore I shut it permanently”. By the time he was done, Daryl was shaking with fury, and the group stared at the normally soft-spoken man with wide eyes. With one last huff, Daryl stalked off, and Morgan gulped after learning to never poke the grizzly bear that was Daryl Dixon. 

Hotch slowly climbed from the truck, slowly walking toward JJ and Rossi with slumped shoulders. Morgan wasn’t positive, but he could have sworn that he saw fresh tears streaming down his face.

CM

A knock at the door startled Spencer from his book, and he glanced up as Negan opened the door, a tray in his hands. “Are you hungry?”

Spencer nodded, eyeing the tray, which seemed to hold a sandwich and chips.

“Listen,” Negan sighed. “I’m really sorry about earlier. I know you gave me a clear “yes”, but that was way out of line for me. I just wanted you to know how angry I was”.

Spencer’s eyes wandered up to the man’s face and he saw the sincerity in his eyes. He moved over so Negan could sit next to him, and he grabbed the sandwich from the tray, before digging in. 

“Well, Dr. Smarty Pants, I have a job for you”.

Spencer looked up, staring at him quizzically. “And what would that be?”

“Do you know how to make bullets?” Negan asked with a grin.

“I’ve read some books about it, and the process is quite simple”.

Negan nodded, draping his arm across Spencer’s shoulder. “That’s great, Darlin’. You start tomorrow. I’ll gather up some workers to help you”.

Negan stood up and headed towards the door, whistling and swinging Lucille as he did. Spencer winced as he slammed the door behind him. A few seconds passed, and Spencer glanced up as the door clicked again. ‘What could Negan possibly want now?’

He blinked in surprise as Dwight stepped in, looking sheepish. “Look, I’m really sorry about what I did. I just need Negan to trust me”.

Spencer looked at him thoughtfully. 

“Please, I need your help. We need to take Negan down; his reign of terror needs to end”.

Spencer thought to the conversation that he and Negan just had. “I have an idea”.


	17. Not An Update

Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with me for so long. I’ve been on a trip, but I promise I’ll have a new chapter up by the end of the month.


	18. We are the Warriors that Built this Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer is forced to make a hard decision when Tara tries to save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Warriors by Imagine Dragons.

Dwight quirked his brow as Spencer babbled on about how easy it was to make “trick” bullets that erupted inside of the chamber, and how they looked like the real thing. “Are you sure it will work?”

Spencer nodded his head. “Despite my escape, Negan still puts an immense amount of faith in me. We can pull this off”.

With a final nod, Dwight left the room, leaving Spencer to work out his plan.

CM

Michonne looked up when there was a short knock at her door, and she watched as Tara walked in. “What can I do for you?”

Tara pursed her lips, before sighing. “We need to do something about Negan. Spencer is back at the Sanctuary and no one seems to have a plan. I say we go there tonight and break him out”.

A long pause followed as Michonne mulled it over. “If we take out the guards, it could work,” she explained. Daryl told me the layout of the Sanctuary, and most of the Saviors will be downstairs. Negan will most likely be keeping Spencer upstairs, so we could slip through if we’re careful”.

Tara nodded, grabbing her gun and gathering supplies for the long trek to the Sanctuary. 

CM

The car was silent as Hotch kept his eyes on the road, and Morgan and JJ looked out the windows. 

“How do you know that Ezekiel will help us?” Morgan asked. “He seems like a hardcore pacifist”.

Hotch looked at him through the rearview mirror. “I don’t know for sure, but if we explain the situation, we might be able make him understand”.

The car slowed as they approached the gates of the Kingdom, and Richard waved at them from his post on the wall. The gates swung open, and they proceeded on foot. 

“How can the Kingdom be of help?” He asked. 

“Spencer’s been taken by Negan,” Morgan explained. “We’d like the Kingdom’s help in getting him back”.

Richards brow furrowed. “That will have to be taken up with the King. Follow me”.

The trio followed on his heels as he led them inside the church and to the auditorium, where King Ezekiel was sitting on his throne, with Shiva by his side. JJ stared in shock as Shiva roared loudly. Ezekiel beckoned them forward, and Hotch stepped forward first. 

“Your Majesty, Spencer has been taken by the Saviors, and we need more manpower to get him back,” Hotch explained. 

Ezekiel stroked his chin, looking ponderous. “Can you not reason with them?”

Morgan scoffed. We’re beyond reasoning with them! Negan is a monster and doesn’t care about anyone but himself!”

“Your people would do everything they could to save you, wouldn’t they?” JJ cut in. 

King Ezekiel frowned. “That would be a completely different situation. Now, please leave; Richard will escort you out”. 

Hotch growled but followed Richard out. He didn’t want to start another war, and the Kingdom had much more manpower.

CM

Tara silently aimed her sniper rifle through the fence of the Sanctuary and took down both guards at the door. Michonne grabbed the wire cutters and cut a hole large enough to slip through.

“Keep watch while I check for more guards,” Tara whispered. 

Michonne nodded and turned away, and Tara quickly secured the hole in the fence with a wire. Michonne turned and stared at her incredulously. “What the hell are you doing?”

Tara smiled. “You still have a mission to fulfill; this is mine. Spencer’s in there, and he needs help. His group could have easily killed me or turned me away after I saved Hotch, but they didn’t. I owe him this”. With one last glance at Michonne, she turned and ran into the Sanctuary. 

CM

Hotch sighed as Rick opened the gate to Alexandria and they drove in. 

“Well?” Rick asked. “Are they going to help us?”

“No,” Hotch sighed. They don’t want to risk their people for someone they barely know”.

Rick frowned. “Then we’ll have to do this on our own. Negan has to die”.

Hotch nodded in agreement. 

CM

Tara slowly opened her eyes as the blinding light of the hallway creeped in through the open cell door. 

“Well, look who’s awake!” Negan laughed. “You have some beach ball sized lady nuts to just run in here and start shootin’ up the place”.

Tara glared at him. “You deserve to die, prick”.

Negan feigned a look of hurt. “I’ll send Spencer down here with a tray of food for you, then, we’re going on a little trip”.

“And where would we be going?” Tara asked.

Negan grinned. “We’re gonna pay Ricky a visit, and you’ll be my hostage”. At Tara’s shocked look, he laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you”. Negan then stood and pulled the cell door closed, locking it behind him. 

A few minutes passed before Tara heard footsteps approaching the cell. 

“Tara?” A soft voice called. 

“Spencer?” Tara asked. “Is that you?”

“It’s me,” Spencer replied.

Tara sighed. “Please, Spencer, you have to help me. Negan’s planning on attacking Alexandria, and he wants to use me as bait. I can’t let him do that!”

Spencer was silent for a few moments. “What do you want me to do?” 

“You have to give me something. A knife, poison, anything. I need to kill myself”.

“Tara, you don’t have to do that. There has to be another way”.

“What other choice do we have?” Tara asked. “Alexandria is outnumbered by the Saviors, and it will be a bloodbath. 

Spencer was silent again, before he slid a tray of food under the door. “I’ll be back in the morning,” he sighed, before his footsteps faded away.

***

Tara awoke again to the sound of someone knocking at the door. “Tara?” Spencer asked.

“I’m here,” Tara replied.

Spencer sighed. “There’s something for you on the tray. One should do the trick”

Tara glanced around and spotted the tray that had already been slid under the door. Several gray pills sat on the edge of the tray.

“I made them last night, so I know they’ll work”.

“Thank you, Spencer,” Tara sighed. 

Footsteps trailing away was her reply.

CM

“Rise and shine, Darlin’!” Negan called through Spencer’s door.

Spencer groaned and sat up, rubbing at his eyes. 

“Today’s the day! Get ready, then we’re heading to see your pals at Alexandria”.

Spencer paused at Negan’s use of “we”. “You want me to go?”

“Of course!” Negan exclaimed as he opened the door. “You’re my Dr. Smarty Pants after all”.

After he pulled his clothes on, Spencer followed Negan down the stairs and outside, where a coffin was waiting on the truck. He eyed Tara, who was standing by the coffin. 

“Do you need anything for your trip?” Negan asked her.

“Just some water,” she said as she looked at Spencer.

Negan nodded and handed her a bottle of water, before he opened the casket and she climbed in. He then gestured for Spencer to climb in the passenger seat of the truck.

CM

Michonne observed the road from her post at Alexandria’s guard tower. Something further down the road caught her eyes, and she pulled out her binoculars. Her eyes widened at the sight of several trucks approaching. “Saviors!” She called.

Rick shot up from the chair on his porch and grabbed his gun. “Everyone get ready! They’re here!”

Hotch quickly climbed up the ladder to the guard tower, just in time to see the trucks pull up to the gate. His heart sank when he saw Spencer climb out of the passenger seat. 

“I want to talk to Negan!” Rick called, and Hotch turned to see that he had climbed up to the other guard tower. “Where is he?”

“I am Negan!” Spencer replied with a deep frown.

Hotch paled and shook his head. ‘No, Spencer can’t be doing this,’ he thought to himself.

Before Rick could reply, Negan emerged from the driver’s seat and walked towards the coffin on the back of the truck. “Shut your mouth and listen, Rick,” Negan warned. “I have someone of yours in this coffin, and if you cooperate, you might get them back”.

“We’re not bargaining with you!” Rick growled.

Negan shook his head, before banging Lucille on the side of the coffin. “Can you believe this shit, Tara?”

Tara was silent.

“Yo, Tara!” Negan called before opening the coffin slightly.

“Gaaaaaar!” Tara growled as she lunged at Negan. Her eyes had become yellow and bloodshot and she clumsily grabbed at Negan, before they both fell off of the truck.

“Get off of him!” One of the Saviors cried as he attempted to pull Tara away. She turned her sights to him and bit into his neck. He screeched as Negan clambered to his feet and grabbed his gun. 

Negan quickly glanced around, searching for Spencer, who was attempting to get through the gate. Negan misread this as Spencer wanting to attack, and he grinned. “Atta boy, Spencer!”

Spencer turned to look at him with wide eyes, and the rest of the Saviors approached the gate, pushing it open with guns drawn. The Alexandrians drew their guns, but many slunk backwards when they realized how outnumbered they were.

Negan swung Lucille over his shoulder and whistled merrily as he walked through the gate. “Well, it looks like your little helper failed!” He laughed as he glanced at Tara, who had been put down. 

Rick narrowed his eyes.

“You see Rick,” Negan began. “I’m going to kill you right in front of your people, and there’s nothing you can do about it”.

“You can kill all of us!” Rick snarled. “But there will always be someone who will stand up to you!”

Negan growled and grabbed Carl’s arm, forcing him to the ground. “Arat, get him over here!” Negan roared, pointing at Rick.

Arat pointed her gun at Rick, leading him over to kneel by Carl. 

“Anything to say before I kill your boy?” Negan asked.

Rick glared up at him. “Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but I will kill you”.

Negan whistled. “Wow. Okay, Rick”. He stood up, then took Carl’s hat off, setting it on the ground. He swung Lucille back, preparing to strike. “You said I could do it,” Negan muttered.

ROWL!

Negan jumped in shock as Shiva appeared from behind a house, launching herself at the Savior directly behind him. Negan fell down only to be pulled away by Dwight. “Holy shit! It’s a goddamn tiger!” He yelled.

“Alexandria will not fall! Not on this day!” King Ezekiel yelled as he raised his sword in the air. Several soldiers followed behind him on horses and opened fire at the Saviors. Shiva lunged again and attacked another Savior. He screamed as she clamped down on his neck.

“Come on, Spencer!” Negan hissed as he grabbed his arm, pulling him back up to the truck. Spencer mulled over his choices in his head, before climbing into the truck. The remaining Saviors fell back, and Spencer stared sadly at Hotch before they drove away.


	19. It Don't Break Even

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hotch is left to deal with the aftermath of the battle, while Spencer continues with his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Breakeven by The Script.

Hotch stared in shock as the last of the Saviors’ trucks disappeared down the road, and flinched when a gentle hand landed on his shoulder. 

“Aaron?” A soothing voice whispered.

Hotch looked up with owlish eyes. Rossi. “He… he just left. He didn’t even fight back. He chose them over us…” Hotch trailed off when his voice hitched.

Rossi’s brow furrowed as he frowned. “He might have not had a choice. You know how Negan is”. He flinched backward when Hotch shot up and shoved him away. 

“We could have fought back harder; gone after them! We can beat them!”

Morgan approached, hands held in front of him placatingly. “Hotch, calm down. This isn’t helping anything. We need to come up with a plan”.

“Fuck the plans!” Hotch spat. “Spencer is gone, and he might not come back”. He turned and began walking toward the house. “I’m finishing this, with, or without you”. He then stomped into the house, slammed the door, and headed up to his and Spencer’s shared room. Sitting down on the bed, Hotch buried his face in his hands. He loved Spencer with all of his heart… but he didn’t know if he could forgive him after this.

*CM*

The drive back to the Sanctuary was mostly silent, with Negan’s arm wrapped around Spencer’s shoulders, and Simon driving the truck. Spencer tried to concentrate on not squirming away from Negan’s touch, or else risking everything that he and Dwight had planned. When they arrived at the Sanctuary, Negan led him inside and down to the work floor. “You see all this?” Negan asked, gesturing to empty bullet shells and gun powder. 

Reid nodded.

“Tomorrow, we’re taking all of this to the outpost, which will be your very own!”

Spencer froze, glancing up at Negan in faux-surprise. 

Negan chuckled. “What? Surprised that Papa Negan is giving you your own playhouse?”

“A little bit, sir,” Spencer murmured. 

Negan stared at Spencer, looking him up and down, before smiling. “Who are you?”

Spencer met Negan’s eyes quickly. “Negan. Utterly and completely Negan”.

“Good boy,” Negan leered as he clapped Spencer on the back. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m dead tired. A good night’s sleep sounds good”.

Spencer nodded and watched as Negan turned and climbed the stairs, heading to his room.

***  
The room was dark when Spencer entered, and he quietly shut the door, before shedding his clothes and pulling on the old shirt that he wore to bed. Silently, he slipped under the sheets and shuddered as the cool satin rubbed against his skin. A warm arm snaked around him and a soft voice grunted in his ear.

“That you, Spencer?” 

Spencer huffed at the ridiculous question but answered anyway. “You know it is”.

“Mmmm…” the voice sighed, before soft lips pressed against his neck. “I love you”.

Spencer stiffened at that, but hummed, hoping that that would be enough of an answer. It must have been, as a few seconds later, soft snores filled the air. The arm around him grew heavier, and his eyes roamed around the room, slowly adjusting to the darkness, before landing on the familiar shape of Lucille resting in the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short chapter. I've been busy working and I also have bad writer's block right now.


	20. Where Were They Going Without Ever Knowing the Way?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer finally perfects his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from The Way by Fastball.

Reid glanced up at Negan through his long bangs, which hung in his face. He meticulously worked on the bullet in his hands, while also making sure everyone else was doing their jobs. This was one of the few times that Negan came to check on him while he worked, as Dwight usually drove him back to the Sanctuary at the end of the day. 

“How’s it comin’ Darlin’?” Negan asked, shooting him a wink and a wolfish grin.

“Quite well,” Reid replied as he placed the finished bullet in the growing pile. “We should be done in another week or two”.

He held in the reflex to flinch when Negan patted him on the back. “That’s fuckin’ great. You’ll be home for dinner tonight, won’t you?”

Spencer inwardly cringed at Negan’s use of ‘home’ but nodded. “I’ll be back before sundown”.

Negan smiled. “See you later, baby”. 

Spencer watched as he turned on his heel and walked out, with Arat on his tail. When he was sure Negan was gone, Spencer turned to Dwight. “Are you ready to test these out?” Dwight nodded, and Spencer loaded up his handgun, before putting it in the test dummy’s hand and rigging up the wire to pull the trigger. They both took a step back and watched as the gun backfired and the dummy’s hand was blown off. 

With a sigh, Spencer looked up at the ceiling and smiled. This would all be over soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end of this story. Thanks for sticking with me through this journey. There should be a sequel out soon!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my second fanfiction. The Walking Dead and Criminal Minds are my favorite shows, and I'd love to see the characters interact with each other. I'm sorry if it sucks.
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> To address some confusion about Garcia, she was not with the team when the apocalypse happened. The government, and all things run by the government went down pretty quickly, so she wasn’t able to reach them.


End file.
